Alexander Carpenter (1546/1551 – 1612) was Alex’s 11th Great Grandfather; two of 4,096 in this generation of the Miller line, once through his daughter Juliana and again through his daughter Priscilla Two of his grandchildren [first cousins] Lt. Ephraim MORTONand Ann COOPER married in 18 Nov 1644 in Plymouth.

Immigrant Ancestor – Carpenter Coat of Arms

Alexander Carpenter was born in 1546 in Wrington, Somerset, England. His parents were William CARPENTER and Abigail [Bluther?]. He married Priscilla DILLEN 1583 in St James, Bath, Somerset, England. Alexander died in 1612 in Wrington, Somerset, England or Leyden, Holland, The Netherlands.

Priscilla Dillen was born 1562 or 1568 in Wrington or Bath, Somerset, England. Priscilla died before 1646 in Wrington, Somerset, England. In a letter of 19 Aug 1644 to Mary Carpenter of Wrington, sister of his wife Alice (Carpenter) (Southworth) Bradford, Priscilla’s son-in-law Gov. William Bradford noted that the mother of the Carpenter sisters had recently died, and invited Mary to join them in Plymouth, which she soon did.

2. Richard CARPENTER, born 1335. married Christina ___?, bur. at St. Martins, Outwich,

3. John CARPENTER, brother of the town clerk of London.

4. John CARPENTER.

5. William CARPENTER (1440-1520).

6. James CARPENTER.

7. John CARPENTER.

8. William CARPENTER and Abigail [__?__]. .

Alexander Carpenter was a well-to-do landowner of Wrington, near Bath, in Somerset, England when he became a member of a group of separatists who wished to separate from the Anglican Church and worship according to the dictates of their consciences. With other English refugees the Carpenters fled in 1608 and settled in the area of Leyden, Holland near Saint Peter’s Church.

Alexander Carpenter from Wrington was on 16 Dec 1600 [NS] witness at the Amsterdam marriage of “Antoine Fetcher” and “Jenneken Richeman” [J. de Hoop Scheffer, History of the Free Churchmen ….

Alexander Carpenter was a member of the “Ancient Brethren” The first English Separatist church in The Netherlands had been formed in Amsterdam in the 1590s; it was known as the “Ancient Brethren.” This church was regularly joined by other English dissidents and, the famous founders of the future of Plymouth Colony from Scrooby, England did not arrive until 1608.

Shortly after the Pilgrims arrived, controversies split the Amsterdam congregation. John Smyth re-baptized himself and then all others who wanted to form a distinct Separatist congregation in Amsterdam with him. Out of this group Rev.Thomas Helwys eventually returned to England to found the first English Baptist Church. The remnant sought contact with Dutch Mennonites.

During this split in the Ancient Brethren, John Robinson and William BREWSTERled the Pilgrims (about a third of the Amsterdam Separatists) to Leiden, a move which their pastor from Scrooby, Clyfton, did not make with them. Robinson thus became the pastor of the Pilgrims. The move to Leiden was carefully prepared. Robinson and about one hundred other Pilgrims requested permission to reside in Leiden,in a document dated February 12, 1609. The city’s permission included the following statement, now famous, that Leiden “refuses no honest people free entry to come live in the city, as long as they behave honestly and obey all the laws and ordinances, and under those conditions the applicants’ arrival here would be pleasing and welcome.” The Carpenters must have gone with the new group because by 1611 Alexander was at Leiden.

Alexander Carpenter was the father of at least five daughters, four of whom came to Plymouth Colony early in its history.

Children
The gap between the two historical record (the Saint James parish of Bath and the Wrington Church records (1550–1612) allows the possibility of other children.

Others say the years of birth of the sisters are best approximated based on the ages at death of Julianna, Mary and Priscilla, and then made consistent with one another. Some of these women, however, seem to be a few years older than the norm at their first marriages, and extreme ages at death are frequently exaggerated, so it may be that all these estimated birth dates should be shifted forward by a few years. In 1988 Janet K. Pease published some entries from the IGI which purport to relate to this family, but many of them were clearly not from the parish registers. A year later Myrtle Hyde published the results of research that had been carried out in 1971 in the registers of St. James, Bath, and Wrington, Somersetshire; these entries seem more reliable, but some discrepancies remain.

1. Nathaniel Carpenter

It is believed that he died by 1610 in Leyden, Zuid Holland, Netherlands. No marriage has been found.

Agnes’ husband Samuel Fuller (wiki) was born 20 Jan 1580 in Redenhall, Norfolk, England. His parents were Robert Fuller and Sarah Dunkhorne. Samuel’s father Robert was a butcher. Initially Samuel learned the trade of a say-weaver, one who makes cloth for tablecloths and bedding. Samuel died in 1633 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Mass.

In 1604 the Puritan minister John Robinson left his position at Cambridge to become pastor of St. Andrew’s Church in Norwich. In the face of persecution from King James I, Robinson left Norwich and soon made his way to the village of Scrooby. Samuel Fuller went to Scrooby as well at this time, presumably influenced by Robinson. In 1609 the Separatist congregation at Scrooby escaped to the Netherlands and made their way to the city of Leiden, where they could worship as they pleased. Fuller went with them to Leiden and became a deacon in their congregation.

Agnes Carpenter married 24 April 1613 in Leyden, Samuel Fuller, as his second wife.

He had previously 24 Apr 1613 in Leiden, Zuid Holland, Netherlands to Alice Glascock (1580 in Redenhall, Norfolk, England – 1613). Dr. Fuller was then a silk weaver in Leyden and a leader of the separatist group known as the Ancient Brethren. Agnes gave birth to a child but it died in infancy and was buried in Leiden. Agnes died within four years of her marriage and was buried in Saint Peter’s Church of Leyden.

The Pieterskerk is a late-Gothic church in Leiden dedicated to Saint Peter. It is best known today as the church of the Pilgrim Fathers where John Robinson was buried.

Samuel Fuller’s third marriage, to Bridget Lee, (1600 in Leiden, S Holland – 1 Mar 1664 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Mass.) is recorded in Amsterdam, Holland 27 May 1617. When the Mayflower sailed in 1620 Dr. Fuller was its chief physician and surgeon.

Dr. Samuel Fuller portrayed at Plimoth Plantation in 2009

Samuel Fuller came on the Mayflower in 1620, leaving behind his wife Bridget. She would come later, on the ship Anne in 1623. Samuel Fuller’s brother Edward Fuller, along with Edward’s wife Ann joined him on the Mayflower. He was the Colony’s doctor, and was a church deacon. His wife Bridget may have been the church’s deaconess. Samuel Fuller spent time helping the sick at Neumkeag (now Salem), in 1629. He himself became sick in the autumn of 1633, and died, as did a number of other Plymouth residents.

Although some historians and genealogists have proposed that it was in Leiden that Fuller acquired training in medicine, possibly while attending lectures at Leiden University, historian Norman Gevitz has found no evidence to support any conclusion other than that of Fuller having done so only once in Plymouth. Gevitz considers the contentions that Fuller was the “Mayflower physician” and played any role as a healer during the “General Sickness” after the Pilgrims’ arrival nothing more than “myths.”

Julian CARPENTER MORTON and Alice Carpenter Southworth and their families apparently in late 1619 or early 1620 had residence at the Heneage House (the former home of Thomas Heneage), on Duke’s Place (a street), in Aldgate, an area of London known to be home to hundreds of Dutchmen as well as a large number of religious dissenters. That is where Edward Southworth died by 1622.

1600 print of Aldgate. Aldgate was the eastern most gateway through London Wall leading from the City of London to Whitechapel and the east end of London.

Alice’s second husband William Bradford was born 19 Mar 1590 in Austerfield, Yorkshire, England. His parents were William Bradford Jr. and Alice Hanson. William died on 9 May 1657 in Plymouth Colony. He was an English leader of the settlers of the Plymouth Colony , and served as governor for over 30 years after John Carver died. His journal (1620–1647) was published as Of Plymouth Plantation. Bradford is credited as the first civil authority to designate Thanksgiving

When Bradford was 12 years old, a young friend invited him to hear the Rev. Richard Clyfton preach 10 miles away in Babworth. Clyfton was a Puritan minister who believed that the Church of England required strict reforms to eliminate all vestiges of Catholic practices. This would, proponents believed, result in a more “pure” Christian church. Bradford was immediately inspired by Clyfton’s preachings.

Although he was forbidden to do so by his uncles, Bradford continued to attend Clyfton’s sermons. During one of these meetings he met and befriended William BREWSTER [Brewster was our ancestor in the Shaw line, so this thread didn’t come together until I was born] (wikipedia), bailiff and postmaster for the Archbishop of York. Brewster, 24 years older than Bradford, became a father figure to the young man. He resided at Scrooby Manor, just four miles from Austerfield. During frequent visits, Bradford borrowed books from Brewster and Brewster told the young man about church reform efforts taking place throughout England

King James I took the English throne in 1603 and declared that he would put an end to church reform and deal harshly with radical critics of the Church of England. By 1607, a group of about 50 reform-minded individuals began meeting secretly at Scrooby Manor to celebrate the Sabbath, led by Richard Clyfton and also Rev. John Robinson. This group soon decided that reform of the Church of England was hopeless and that they would separate all ties with it. Thus they became known as Separatists.

The weekly meetings of the Separatists soon attracted the attention of the Archbishop of York and many members of the congregation were arrested in 1607. Brewster was found guilty of being “disobedient in matters of religion” and fined. Some members were imprisoned and others were watched, according to Bradford, “night and day” by those loyal to the archbishop.Adding to their concerns, members of the Scrooby congregation learned that other Separatists in London had been imprisoned and left to starve.

When the Scrooby congregation decided in 1607 to leave England illegally for the Dutch Republic (where religious freedom was permitted), William Bradford determined to go with them. The group encountered several major setbacks in trying to leave England, most notably their betrayal by an English sea captain who had agreed to bring the congregation to the Netherlands but instead turned them over to authorities.Most of the congregation, including Bradford, were imprisoned for a short time after this failed attempt.By the summer of 1608, however, the Scrooby congregation, including 18-year-old William Bradford, had managed to escape England in small groups and relocated in Amsterdam.

William Bradford arrived in Amsterdam in August 1608. Having no family with him, Bradford was taken in by the Brewster household. The Separatists, being foreigners and having spent most of their money in attempts to get to the Dutch Republic, had to work the lowest of jobs and lived in poor conditions. After nine months, the congregation chose to relocate to the smaller city of Leiden.

Bradford continued to reside with the BREWSTER family in a poor Leiden neighborhood known as Stink Alley Conditions changed dramatically for Bradford, however, when he turned 21 and was able to claim his family inheritance in 1611. Bradford soon bought his own house, set up a workshop as a fustian weaver, and earned a reputable standing.

The Carpenters are mentioned several times in the Leiden Church records after 1610 participating in marriages, wills and property records

In 1613, Bradford married Dorothy May, the daughter of a well-off English couple living in Amsterdam. The couple was married in a civil service, as the Separatists could find no example of a religious service in the Scriptures. In 1617, the Bradfords had their first child, John Bradford.

The Mayflower’s departure was emotional. Many families were split as some Separatists stayed behind in the Netherlands, planning to make the voyage to the New World after the colony had been established. William and Dorothy Bradford left their three year old son John with Dorothy’s parents in Amsterdam, possibly because he was too frail to make the voyage.

During the third exploration from the Mayflower, which departed on December 6, 1620, a group of men including Bradford located present day Plymouth Bay, explored the bay and found a suitable place for settlement, now the site of downtown Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The exploring party made their way back to the Mayflower to share the good news that a place for settlement had been found. When Bradford arrived back onboard, he learned of the death of his wife, Dorothy. The day after he had embarked with the exploring party, Dorothy slipped over the side of the Mayflower and drowned.

Many historians, including Nathaniel Philbrick and Gary Schmidt, suggest that Dorothy may have committed suicide due to despair over her separation from her only son John and fear of settling in a dangerous wilderness. Bradford did not write about her death in his journal, and there are no evidence that Bradford ever spoke of her again. Some, including historian Kieran Doherty, suggest that Bradford’s silence on the subject is an indication of his purported shame over her suicide. There are no contemporary accounts to indicate whether her death was an accident or a suicide.

In 1627 John Bradford Jr. came to Plymouth and found his father’s household full. In 1640 Plymouth, Mass, he maried Martha Bourne, daughter of our ancestor Thomas BOURNE He moved to Duxbury sometime before 1645. He finally settled among the earliest proprietors of Norwich CT in about 1652 and served as Lt. Deputy to the General Court in Norwich CT in that year. John and Martha had no children. He gave house and home lot to nephew, Thomas. John died 1678 in Norwich, New London, CT.

Back to Alice Carpenter

Alice Carpenter was courted by many suitors, among them young William Bradford. This marriage was opposed by her parents, who favored Edward Southworth, one of the seven sons of Sir Thomas Southworth. Obeying their wishes, Alice married Edward Southworth. Following the birth of two sons, Edward died in London, and in 1623 Alice accompanied her brother-in-law and sister to new England aboard the ship Ann. A month later she married Governor Bradford, whose young wife Dorothy May Bradford had died in a drowning accident upon the Mayflower’s arrival at Plymouth. As first lady she was loved and regarded highly for her strength of character and her willingness to help those in need. She had a good education for her times, and brought considerable property with her from England. She provided guidance to the youth of the colony and promoted an interest in the literature. She lectured on current topics with grace and charm. The Bradfords enjoyed a happy marriage lasting 34 years.

The Bradford household contained, at least seven and probably ten orphans including several of our ancestors. Of the eighteen members of his family only one-third of them bore the name of Bradford. In the 1627 Cattle Division Mr. William Bradford had with him, “to wit: his wife Alice Bradford, William Bradford, Mercy Bradford, Joseph Rogers, Thomas CUSHMAN, William Latham, Mannassah Kempton, his wife Juliana Carpenter MORTON KEMPTON who was previously married to George MORTON, and her children Nathaniel Morton, John Morton, Lt. Ephraim MORTON, and Patience Morton.

A descendant of Alice and her first husband Edward Southworth was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Alice Carpenter Southworth Bradford’s death eulogy was probably typical of all the Carpenter sisters.

“On the 26th day of March, 1670, Mistris Allice Bradford, Seni’r,
changed this life for the better, haueing attained to fourscore years of age, or therabouts. Shee was a godly matron, and much loued while shee liued, and lamented, tho aged, when shee died, and was honorabley enterred on the 29th day of the month aforsaid, att New Plymouth.”
Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 8, p. 33

Constant, born in Leyden and was about fourteen years old when he came over in 1628 with his brother Thomas. Settled at Duxbury, was a volunteer in Pequod war, 1637. Had five daughters and three son. He was for seventeen years deputy from Duxbury and for sixteen years was the Colony’s treasurer. Was commissary in King Philip’s war although then sixty-one year old.

ii. Thomas Southworth b. ca. 1617 (based on age at death), He came to Plymouth Colony in 1628 with his brother, Constant. d. Plymouth, 8 Dec 1669, in his 53rd year; m. Elizabeth Reynor at Plymouth, 1 Sep 1641. She died after 3 June 1679, Their only known child: Elizabeth (Southworth) Howland.

Captain Thomas Southworth, though only twenty-eight when elder Brewster died was proposed as his successor ; but Bradford, who had designed him for the civil service, caused the substitution of another of his proteges, Thomas CUSHMAN.

He was deputy from Plymouth 1651, the next year became an assistant and continued so for eighteen years; was also deputy from Plymouth and at the same time an assistant for the county at large. He was also a prominent military man.

In 1654, John Faunce, the husband of Thomas’ cousin Patience Morton died. . At the head of the grave, during the burial, stood a pitiful group of little orphans left in poverty, but Lieutenant Southworth taking by the hand Thomas, a boy of eight years, led him away to adopt into his o family and, transmitting that which he had received from Gov. Bradford, gave the orphan a good education, secular and religious, for which Thomas Faunce, the last ruling elder known in Plymouth, said that he had “reason to bless God to all eternity.” Thomas Faunce was the last Piligrim Elder. In his old age is responsible for the story of Plymouth Rock. When plans were afoot to build a wharf at the Pilgrim’s landing site in 1741, 121 years after the Pilgrims landed, a 94-year-old Elder of the church named Thomas Faunce (who was the town record keeper for most of his adult life) identified the precise rock his father had told him was the first solid land the Pilgrims set foot upon.

iii. Maj. William Bradford b. 17 June 1624 in the Plymouth.; m. Alice Richards, daughter of Thomas Richards and Welthian Loring, on 23 April 1650 in Plymouth; m2. Mary [__?__ widow of Parson Wiswall of Duxbury, Mass. after 1670/71 in Plymouth one theory is that she was actually the widow of Francis Griswold; m3. Mary Atwood, widow of John Holmes, pastor of Duxbury and a daughter of John Wood, alias Atwood, of Plymouth., circa 1676 in Duxbury, the Plymouth; His marriage to Mary Atwood ended in divorce; d. 20 Feb 1703/04 in Plymouth. William’s will was probated on 10 Mar 1703/04, Plymouth.

A slab of blue slate, now in good condition and protected by an iron hood stands over his grave on Burial Hill, Plymouth The original stone the surface has scaled off and is recut in lower case letters, with a few minor changes in spelling. HERE LIES THE BODYOF YE HONORABLE MAJORWILLIAM BRADFORDWHO EXPIRED FEB.Ye 20th 1703/4Aged 79 YearsHe lived long but still was doing good.And in his countrys service lost much blood.Lived a life well spent has no distress

Major William served the colony as a close assistant to the Governor. Altogether (according to his will) he had at least 15 children, and the Mayflower Descendant reports that Alice Richards bore him ten. His sons are listed as John (firstborn), David, Ephraim, Hezekiah, William, Thomas, Samuel, Joseph and Israel. His daughters were Mercy (Steel), Hannah (Ripley), Melatia (Steel), Mary (Hunt), Alce (Fitch) and Sarah (Baker).

Next to Miles Standish, he was the chief military man in the colony. In 1662, when Wamsutta, also known as Alexander Pokanoket, the successor of Massasoit was suspected of designs against the English, Major Bradford was with Major Winslow when the sachem was surprised and taken prisoner. He was released by the magistrates to go home but was taken sick and tarried for a while at Major Bradford’s house from whence he was carried on the shoulders of his men and died a few days later. The cause of death was disputed, and Wamsutta’s brother Metacomet (who succeeded Wamsutta in leadership of the Wampanoag) suspected that he had been poisoned. Wamsutta’s death was one of the factors that would eventually lead to the 1675 King Philip’s War.

Some historians believe Wamsutta was poisoned or tortured by Governor Josiah Winslow, who saw him as a threat. But considering Winslow’s father, Edward Winslow and Governor William Bradford (both of whom had died before this), and their previous peaceful relations with Wamsutta’s father, Massasoit, their devout Christian character, and their having treated the Indians with respect, such speculation is open to question. Nan Apashamen, a Wampanoag historian at Plymouth Plantation, suggests Wamsutta’s name had changed to Moanam and that he was Phillips’ father, not brother

Major in King Philip War Major William Bradford led the Plymouth Regiment in the Great Swamp Fight and was pierced with a musket ball that he carried through life and which found a lodgment with his corpse in the grave. It is also said he had a severe wound in the eye.

In 1682 – 1686 William was Deputy Governor of Plymouth. In 1687 he was one of Governor Andros council. Between 1689 – 1691 he was again Deputy Governor of Plymouth. In 1692 he was Councilor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay Charter.

Jael’s parents were Rev. Peter Hobart (1604 – 1679) and Elizabeth Ibrook (1608 – 1645) Peter was first minister of the Hingham congregation who built Old Ship Church. Hobart, who had attended the heavily Puritan Cambridge University.Natives of Hingham in Norfolk County, East Anglia, Peter Hobart, his father Edmund and his twin brother Capt. Joshua Hobart were among Hingham’s most prominent early settlers.

Joseph lived in Kingston, (then Plymouth), on Jones’ River, half a mile from its mouth,, passes at a place called “Flat House Dock,” perhaps from the circumstance that he lived in a house with a flat roof. He died at Rocky Nook July 20, 17 15 leaving two sons, one of whom had thirteen children and named one son ” Carpenter Bradford.”

5. Mary Carpenter

Mary never married, lived to be 90 years old, and died in Mar 19-20, 1667, in the home of Gov. William Bradford of Plymouth.

Mary Carpenter remained in England to care for her aging parents and after their deaths she followed her sisters to America to make her home with Governor and Mrs. Bradford. She was a passenger on the ship Struggling Saints in 1647. Plymouth records refer to her as “A Goldie old maid, never married.” A letter written to her in 1644 from William Bradford expresses his sense of family obligation:

” Loving Sister; we understand by your letter that God hath taken to himself our aged Mother out of the troubles of this tumultuous world, and that you are in a solitary condition as easily apprehend. We thought good therefor, to writ these few lines unto you that if you thinke good to come over to us you shall be welcome; and we shall be as helpful unto you as we may, though we are grown old and the country here more unsettled than ever, by reason of the great changes that have been in these late times, and what will further be the Lord only knows; which makes many thinke of removing their habitation, and sundries of our ministers (Hearing of the peace and liberty now in England) begin to leave us, and it is feared many more will follow. We do not writ these things to discourage you, for we shall be glad to see you if God so dispose; but if you find not all things here according to your expectations when God shall bring you thither, that you may not thinke we dealt not plainly with you.”

Two other children are often attached to this family, most probably in error. The first is Bridget Carpenter on Wrington who some claim married a Samuel Fuller then a Thomas Vincent. She is often confused with “Bridget White Lee” who as a widow married Samuel Fuller, as his third wife, in Leiden on May 27, 1617 and sailed on the Mayflower with her husband. This Bridget was the younger sister (not the daughter born 1608) of Catherine White who married John Robinson. The third “Mrs Fuller” (Bridget White Lee Fuller) arrived on the “Ann” in July of 1623. No other Bridget’s are listed. That ship contained Julian Carpenter Morton and her husband George Morton along with Alice Carpenter Southworth did not have Alice’s two sons. They came later.

Not William Carpenter

The second oft cited child is William Carpenter born between 1576 and 1586, later of Salisbury in Wiltshire who married Mary Batt, a daughter of Reverend Robert Batt and Alicia Lockey on April 18, 1605 at St. Thomas in Salisbury. This ‘person’ is confused with another William Carpenter who married a Mary Batt and was from another Carpenter line

John JOHNSON Sr. (c. 1564 – 1643) was Alex’s 12th Great Grandfather, one of 8,192 in this generation of the Shaw line.

Captain John Johnson was born in 1564 in Canterbury, Kent, England. His parents were Francis JOHNSON and Elizabeth THORGOOD. He married Hannah THROCKMORTON in 1586 in Wilmington, Kent, England. John died 14 Dec 1643 in Wilmington, Kent, England

Hannah Throckmorton was born in 1570 in Wilmington, Kent, England.. Her parents were Sir William THROCKMORTON and Cicely BAYNHAM. Her grandparents were Sir Thomas THROCKMORTON and Elizabeth BERKELEY and Thomas BAYNHAM and Mary WINTER. Hannah died in 1666/1667 in Wilmington, Kent, England.

Findagrave says John and Hannah had a son, John Johnson, about whom nothing is known except his name. It says there is no connection to the John Johnson who emigrated to Roxbury, Mass

John’s will, dated Sep. 30, 1659 (the day he died) and proved Oct. 15, 1659 names son Isaac as co-executor. Arrived in New England with the Winthrop fleet at Salem, Jun. 22, 1630. He settled at Roxbury, MA and was made Freeman on May 18, 1631. Subsequently served town and colony in many capacities, including Constable (first on Oct. 19, 1630), Surveyor General, Town Clerk, Deputy to the House of Deputies, and Clerk of the Military Company of Massachusetts. The position as Surveyor General of Arms and Ammunitions of the Colonies made Capt. Johnson responsible for the acquisition, maintenance and distribution of the primary means of protection. Gov. John Winthrop wrote in his Journal under the date of Feb. 6, 1645:

John Johnson, the Surveyor General of Arms and Ammunition, a very industrious and faithful man in his place, having built a fair house in the midst of the town, with divers barns and outhouses, it fell on fire in the day time, no man knowing by what occasion, and there being in it seventeen barrels of the country’s powder, and many arms, all was suddenly burnt and blown up, to the value of four or five hundred pounds, wherein a special providence of God appeared, for, he, being from home, the people came together to help and many were in the house, no man thinking of the powder till one of the company put them in mind of it, whereupon they all withdrew, and soon after the powder took fire and blew up all about it, and shook the houses in Boston and Cambridge, so that men thought it had been an earthquake, and carried great pieces of timber a great way off, and some rags and such light things beyond Boston meeting house, there being then a stiff gale south, it drove the fire from the other houses in the town (for this was the most northerly) otherwise it had endangered the greatest part of the town.

John’s first wife Mary Heath died May 1629, Hertfordshire, England; bur. May 15, 1629, Ware, Hertfordshire, England. Her parents were William Heath and Agnes Cheney.

John was one of the founders of the town and church at Roxbury, MA and, together with his sons Isaac and Humphrey, was an original donor to the Free School in Roxbury. Married first 21 Sep 1613, Ware, Hertfordshire, England, second by 1633 Margery (b. England; bur. 9 Jun 1655, Roxbury, MA), and third 1655 or later Grace NEGUS (d. Dec. 1671), widow of Barnabas FAWER, and sister of Jonathan and Benjamin NEGUS.

the family tradition is that “three brothers Woodcock came to this country from England about the middle of the 17th century, and settled at Attleboro. They were evidently men with some ready capital. The manuscript records at Attleboro, give a history of John Woodcock, and the proprietor’s records of Rehoboth mention a William, and a Thomas Woodcock appears in Boston in 1674 as a citizen.

7. John Woodcock

John was baptized on 20 Jul 1627 at Saint Antholin Budge Row, London, London, England and it shows his parents as William and Alis “Alice” Woodcock. The baptism records for his siblings are located at the same Saint Antholin Parrish.

John immigrated 20 Mar 1635/36 , with the Hull Company and is recorded as a husbandman aged 34, from Broadway, Co Somerset. “Bound for New England, Waimouth, ye 20th of March, 1635, John Woodcock from Dorset–2.” He was the only one of that surname among the list of passengers there recorded. He was evidently a lone adventurer starting for the New World. We are led to believe that he was at the time of sailing about 22 yrs. of age.

After John died, his second wife, Joanna [__?__] married James Fowler, at Attleboro.

John Woodcock and family established a small settlement in North Attleborough in 1669, which subsisted on agriculture, fishing and hunting. By 1670, Woodcock had received a license to open a tavern. The settlement was attacked during King Philip’s War, with two killed and one home burned, but the garrison house which Woodcock had built survived the attack. The Woodcock-Garrison house was used as sleeping quarters for George Washington on his army’s march to Boston to rid the city of General Thomas Gage’s troops. The Garrison house is still open for tours and is an especially popular destination for field trips by local school children.

The old garrison house was torn down in 1806 and a large building was erected in its place, probably reusing much of the old wood. The addition was moved back a little to where it is located today and became a tavern. It was later turned into a dwelling house known as the “Aunt Cynthia Hatch House” a

Woodcock Garrison House all dressed up for Christmas

John Woodcock in Roxbury and Springfield

There is some doubt whether the John Woodcock in Roxbury in the 1630’s and 1640’s is the same person who built the first garrison house in North Attleborough in 1669. Some doubt the connection because the early John was a rough character. The Roxbury records were destroyed by fire in 1652.

In the summer of 1635, William Pynchan of Roxbury received the consent of the general court of Mass. Bay to remove to the Connecticut river and despatched two men, John Cabel and John Woodcock, to “The Wilderness” for the purpose of erecting a habitation and preparing for those who were to follow. These men erected a structure on the west side of the Connecticut in the Meadow, which from this circumstance was subsequently called “House Meadow.” The house was doubtless occupied by Cabel and Woodcock during the summer, but being informed by the Indians that the site was subject to overflow, it was abandoned and a new location selected, and a house was erected on the east side of the river. The location of the first house is described in an entry made by John Holyoke in the Register of Deeds, 1779, “as that meadow on the south of Agauam river where the English did at first build a house, also where the English kept their residence who first came to settle and plant at Springfield now so called.”

William Pynchon, Founder of Roxbury and Springfield, Mass.

It seems quite probable that the John Woodcock here mentioned is the emigrant that left Waymouth on the 20th of March, 1635. That he was identical with John Woodcock of Rehoboth, the first American ancestor of the Woodcocks of Eastern Mass., is a question that has not been settled. In comparing the histories of Woodcock of Springfield and Woodcock of Rehoboth a difference will be noted in the temperament and capabilities of the two men.

While living at the “new plantation” established by Pynchon, Woodcock was noted for his litigation and it is easy to follow him in the court records for the seven years that he made his home there. He was allotted a lot of land by the first proprietors. The size of the lot “8 rods wide” establishes the fact that Woodcock was a single man at this time, as married men were allotted “12 rods wide.”

The following is copied from the court records of William Pynchon, who was authorized by the General court to try causes:

14 Nov 1639 – “A meetinge to order some towne affairs and to try causes by jury.

The Action–John Woodcock complains against Jo Cabel in an action of the case for wages due to him for certaine work he did to a house that was built in Agauam side for the plantation.

The Verdict–The jury finds for the defendant, but withal they find the promise that Jo Cabel made to the plaintiffe to see him paid for his work, firme and goode. But as for the five days in cominge up with John Cabel, we find them not due to be paid, for he came up not purposely, but in his coming he aimed at a lot each end of his he did attain. Moreover we do agree that John Cabel is ingaged to the plaintiffe for work done about the house, yet we also judge that Joe Woodcock is fully satisfied in regard that he hath had the use of the ould (indian) ground and of the house all that sommer as far as Joe Cabel had himselfe.”

2 Jan 1640 -“Rev. Mr. Moxon complained of John Woodcock for slander, Woodcock having accused the reverend gentleman of taking a false oath against him at Hartford.”

Then follows two suits of Woodcock vs. Gregory about a pigge and hogge. These trials are dated Feb., 1640, and Sept., 1640.

15 Feb 1641 – Robert Ashley complained of Woodcock for not delivering a gunn that the plaintiffe had purchased of him. Jan 5th, 1642.

In a 2nd division of plantinge ground single pfsons are to have 8 rods in bredth maryed pfsons 10 rod in bredth, bigger familys 12 rod, to begin upward at ye edge of ye hill. John Woodcock 8 rod in bredth. This shows Woodcock to have been a man with no family. His name does not appear again on the records of Springfield after Jan. 5th, 1642. Francis Ball is referred to as the owner of this lot (first occupied by Woodcock) in a report on the town records made in Feb., 1644.

From the County and Probate Records at Northampton Feb. 12th, 1690, Widow Abigail Stebbins testified “that her first husband, Francis Ball, bought of John Woodcock allotments in Springfield, and paid five pounds for his labor, and what he had done,” and at the same time Thomas Merrickesen, one of the ancient planters and settlers of Springfield, further confirmed Ball’s title to the land. This home lot that Woodcock sold to Ball for £5 was situated on the south side of what is now Elm street, and is now occupied by the Chicopee bank building, the Court Square Theatre building, Hamden County court house and many other buildings.”

Referring again to the case of Moxon vs. Woodcock the plaintiff claimed £9 and 19s. damages, and Woodcock being found guilty, £6 and 13s. was awarded. A few days after this, “John Searles, constable of Springfield” was required by the magistrate “to attach the body of John Woodcock upon an execution granted to Mr. George Moxon.”

Moxon seems to have persisted in getting satisfaction and carried the case up to the General court at Mass. Bay. In the “Bibliographical Sketch of the Colonial Laws of Mass., 1630 to 1686, we find

“Present, the Governor Wm. Winthrop, Increase Nowell, the 12th, 3rd mo. 1642. John Woodcock for his many miscarriages was censured to be whipt.”

Pioneer of North Attleboro

John Woodcock first appears of record in Rehoboth on the 28th, 4th m., 1647, when he is allotted by the proprietors the land before granted to Edward Patteson. He was living there as early as 1654, probably for some years previous. The precise date cannot be ascertained. He came from Roxbury, where he owned real estate. He was admitted a freeman there in 1673. He also had a grant of land in May, 1662, for a small house near the church at Rehoboth, for “Lord’s day.”

The first settlement within the bounds of the present [1886] town of Attleborough was in the neighborhood of the Baptist meetinghouse, where Hatch’s old tavern still stands. It was commenced by Mr. John Woodcock, his sons and their families, soon after the first division in 1669. Here he built a public house on the “Bay Road,” and fortified it as a garrison, and laid out lands to the amount of about three hundred acres, which afterwards made an excellent farm. At this time and subsequently he took up in several parts of the town about six hundred acres, part on his own shares, and the rest on rights which he purchased of Roger Amidown, James Redeway, Andrew Willett, etc. A part of this six hundred acres was on Bungay River, where Bishop’s shop once stood, and this he conveyed to his son Jonathan, with the ” saw-mill thereon standing.”

Woodcock built his house in 1669 and was licensed the following year to open a public house or tavern. He was warned to “keep good order” and that “no unruliness or ribaldry be permitted there.” Woodcock’s house was just one of several “garrison houses” built for protection against possible Indian attacks. Similar “garrison houses” were located in settlements such as Dedham, Seekonk and Swansea. In a cruel twist of fate, Woodcock’s “garrison house” failed to offer protection for a member of his own family. In April 1676, during King Philip’s War, Woodcock’s son, Nathaniel, was killed by Indians while working in a nearby corn field. The Indians cut off Nathaniel’s head and stuck it on a pole in front of the house. Nathaniel Woodcock was buried where he fell, and his grave is now in the center of what would become the Woodcock Cemetery. Here is a Google Maps view, though the oldest existing headstone is dated 1755 and there are no Woodcock stones remaining.

Here is the letter John wrote asking for reinforcements

“Honored Governor and Council: I make bold to inform your honors that God has been pleased to give the heathen commission to break in upon us, who have slain two of my family, and another of my sons sorely wounded, shot with several bullets in the shoulders, but in the midst of our afflictions, God has shown us mercy. I was encouraged to keep my station by our authority, but of a sudden they were pleased to call off my garrison soldiers, and not giving me any warning, and I am in a great strait what to do. We are but fourteen of us, and but six that can bare arms, and most of us sick. I would intreat your honors to consider our afflicted condition, and send me some assistance for the present, until my family is able to draw off. And as my house and family have been serviceable to the country, I desire that I may not be forgotten by both colonies, but would intreat your honors to send me half a dozen men to relieve my family, for if I were able to go away I could not carry my provisions away with me. I have near a hundred bushels of corn in my house besides other provisions, and I bless God for it. And am very loth to go away and leave it to the heathen. We do judge that there is not above twelve or fifteen Indians that have have done all this evil, to our neighbors at Wrentham, and I would intreat your honors to send me a surgeon to dress my wounded son. I hope there is no danger to come if they come by night, Not to trouble you any further at present, begging your prayers, hoping God will move your hearts with compassion speedily to send us some relief, so I rest. Yours to serve in what I may,

JOHN WOODCOCK.
April the 26th, 1676

At a meeting of the Council held at Boston, the 17th of June, 1676, at eight of the clock:

The Council being informed that the Indians are skulking to and again about Wrentham, Woodcocks (or Mount Hope) and having done mischief to the English. It is ordered that the Major of Suffolk issue out his orders forthwith for such a party as he judgeth is fit and necessary to repair to Dedham on 2nd day next early and range the woods to and again for the disarming, destroying and distressing of the enemy, wherever they find them, committing the conduct of that party to whome it seems mete. Ordering that each soldier be completely armed with firearms and ammunition, and provisions for four days. Past by the Council.
EDW. RAWSON, Secy.

Instructions for Capt. Bratts

“Ordered to take 20 of his troops with such officers as he may choose, and an officer and ten troopers of Lieut. Haley’s troupe, and march to Dedham, where are ordered to be an officer and eighteen foot soldiers mounted from Dorchester, 6 from Roxbury and 24 from Dedham, with an officer. All appointed to be at Dedham, the rendezvous, this day at 4 p. m. S. C.

You are to march with your troopers and dragoons to be at John Woodcock’s by midnight, where you shall meet an Indian Pylot and his file of musketeers which pylot was engaged to bring you upon Philip and his company, who are not above 30 men as he saith, and not ten miles from Woodcock’s. Be sure to secure your pylot to prevent falsehood and escape. In case you meet not with a pylot at Woodcock’s you are to send to Mr. Newman at Rehoboth and let him know of your being there.”

Woodcock’s house was occupied for a garrison. It was licensed in 1670, according to the following record :—

“July 5th, 1670. John Woodcock is allowed by the Court to keep an Ordinary at the ten mile river (so called) which is in the way from Rehoboth to the Bay ; and likewise enjoined to keep good order, that no unruliness or ribaldry be permitted there.”—Old Col. Rec.

John’s name first appears in the Rehoboth records ” the 28th 4th mo. 1647,” when he bought the lands of Ed. Patterson. ” The town gave to John Woodcock the lot before granted to Edward Pateson.” He also had a grant of land in May, 1662, for a small house near the church for ” the Lord’s day,” and he was living in Rehoboth as early as July 28, 1662 — probably for sometime previous — though the precise date of his settling there cannot be ascertained.

He came there from Roxbury, where he owned real estate, but where he had previously lived is not known. John was admitted a freeman of that town May 14, 1673.

Woodcock was a man of some consideration in those days, his name frequently appearing in town offices and on committees. June 2, 1691, he was chosen ” Deputy to the General Court” from Rehoboth, and at several other times.

He held Indian rights in very low estimation. On one occasion he took the liberty of paying himself a debt due to him from a neighboring Indian, without the consent of the debtor or the intervention of jndge, jury, or sheriff, — for which achievement he received the following sentence from the Court, — an example of the rigid justice of the Puritans:

” 1654 John Woodcock of Rehoboth, for going into an Indian house and taking away an Indian child and some goods in lien of a debt the Indian owed him, was sentenced to set in the stocks at Rehoboth an hour on a Training day, and to pay a fine of forty shillings.”—Old Col. Rec, Court Orders, Book 3d.

John Woodcock, Sen., died October 20, 1701, having arrived at a very advanced age in spite of the many attempts which had been made by the Indians to destroy him. It is said that after his death the scars of seven bullet holes were counted on his body. He was an inveterate and implacable enemy to the Indians — the cause of which will hereafter appear in the notice of some events in Philip’s war. In encounters with them, on several occasions, he ran imminent risks of his life. He was foremost in all enterprises the object of which was the destruction of the Indians. He was a very useful man as a pioneer in the dangers and hardships of a new settlement, being cunning in contrivance and bold and active in execution.

Woodcock’s Garrison was a well-known place of rendezvous in the great Indian war, and was probably for some years the only house, excepting its immediate neighbors, on the ” Bay Road,” between Rehoboth and Dedham, though this was then the main road from Rhode Island, Bristol, and Rehoboth to Boston. The Bay road extended first from Rehoboth through what is now ” the city,” to West Attleborough, north to Woodcock’s, thence over Ten Mile hill to Jacob Shepardsou’s in what is now Foxborough, thence through Dedham and Roxbury to Boston.

This ” Garrison” was one in a chain of fortifications extending from Boston to Rhode Island. There was one in Boston, one in Dedham at Ames’ corner, Woodcock’s in this place, one at Rehoboth. situated in the centre of the ” Great Plain,” on the borders of which the first settlements were principally located, another at Newport on the Island, and perhaps others in the intermediate spaces. It was a famous place on this road — a convenient public house for travelers as well as a well-known station in Philip’s war. It witnessed many a military force on its march to the defence of the colonists, and such often halted and encamped there on their route overnight, and sometimes longer while waiting for additional forces. Companies were sometimes ordered to rendezvous there to wait the arrival of other troops who were to accompany them, and then the solitary places of the wilderness were enlivened by the tread of armed men and the sounds of martial music.

After the Indians had commenced the war by open hostilities, having killed several persons in the settlements near Mt. Hope, ” The government of Massachusetts,” says Mr. Baylies, ” promptly resolved to send assistance to Plymouth,” and on the 26th of June a company of infantry under command of Captain Henchman and a company of horse commanded by Captain Prentice marched for Mt. Hope ; and notwithstanding certain signs of ill omen which they fancied they saw in the heavens, which had great influence over the popular mind in that superstitious age, ” they continued their march, and reached the house of one Woodcock, (now in Attleborough) distant about 30 miles from Boston, before they halted. It was then morning, and they resolved to wait there the arrival of Capt. Mosely with his company of volunteers.” Mr Baylies says that” Mosely was a man of an intrepid spirit, and an excellent soldier. He had been a buccaneer in the West Indies, and had resided at Jamaica. The sounds of war revived his enthusiasm for deeds of enterprise and danger.”
In the course of the day he arrived at the rendezvous at Woodcock’s, with a company of one hundred and ten men, volunteers, amongst whom were ten or twelve privateersmen with dogs. This must have been a stirring scene in the lonely situation at Woodcock’s. On the second day they reached Swansey.

On the Narragansett Expedition which was appointed for the next December, the three colonies of Plymouth, Connecticut, and Massachusetts united in furnishing military forces to be under the command of Josias Winslow, of Plymouth, as general.

Here again Woodcock’s was a place of rendezvous for the Massachusetts portion of the army. Her force consisted of six companies under the command of Captains Mosely, Gardiner, Davenport, Oliver, Johnson, and Major Appleton, who commanded this portion of the force, and who, on the ” 9th Dec. 1676 marched with them from Dedham to Woodcock’s, the wellknown place of rendezvous, 30 miles from Boston, and there encamped for the night.” His companies numbered four hundred and sixty-five foot, and one company of horse under command of Captain Prentice, so that the whole number must have been over five hundred. This was a large army for the infant colony of Massachusetts forty-six years only after the settlement at Boston. They marched over the ” Oulde Bay Road.” Here they rested, and then marched on to Seekonk, where they met the army of Plymouth Colony, under General Winslow, and where the two forces were united and moved on their way to the great Narragansett fight. These same forces must have rendezvoused at Woodcock’s on their return.

While armies in their marches halted there and great men of the colonies in their travels stopped there, this house is often mentioned by historians. The celebrated Judge Sewall relates in his ” Diary” that on his return from Rehoboth he dined at Woodcock’s with fellow travelers on boiled venison, which was probably just such a dinner as they chose in those days, and would not be unacceptable at the present time.

Madame Knight in her famous journey from Boston to New York lodged there overnight, and speaks of her fare. This was considered a perilous journey in olden times, and required eight days to accomplish. Madame Knight traveled on horseback with a servant, business of importance requiring her presence in New York. A sketch of this adventurous journey would afford a better knowledge of the condition of the country and its inhabitants than any formal description.’

This ” Oulde Bay Road ” was the first main road laid out in this part of the country, and all travel would necessarily pass by this ” Ordinary ” in those early days, which might be called the dawn of the New England life and civilization. It is a delight to go back in imagination and view the landscape that surrounded the traveler, and the novel scenes of early colonial life. Mile after mile of almost trackless woods filled with bears, deer, and the other denizens of the forest, with here and there a gleaming lake or sparkling river glinting in the sunlight; the plodding wayfarer on foot with his heavy staff; the rider on horseback clad in the quaint costume of the time; and anon, a little opening in the wilderness with a single log house or a small cluster of rude buildings, where rest and refreshment could be obtained for man and beast.

As one traveler dismounts, or another wearily shifts his heavy burden to the bench by the open door, we can see the dwellers of the hamlet slowly gathering one by one to hear the news from the outside world, a faint echo of whose events just reaches these secluded places; or the women collecting about the pedlar to hear the latest fashions of the towns described, and to barter for some of the contents of the pack by his side.

Woodcock had a large family, with a number of laborers and assistants; there must have been fully fourteen in the entire family. He had a smith on his place, barns, a garrison house of large size, sons’ houses, etc., so that his place made quite an opening in the forest and furnished social relief to the lonely and weary journeyers. There was on such a route more travel than one would at first suppose, for emigrants were from time to time going from town to town and settlement to settlement, seeking eligible situations or locations, and messengers on business matters or the municipal and military affairs of the colonies must have frequently passed to and fro.

This stand, so long owned and occupied by Colonel Hatch, and still called by his name, is the oldest in Bristol County — a public house having been kept on the spot, without intermission, from July 5, 1670, to about 1840 — during a period of one hundred and seventy years. It is situated on the Boston and Providence turnpike, now often termed ” the old turnpike road.”

Mar 1681 –

“…. and they granted to John Woodcock a parcel of land as nere the place where the meeting house shall stand as may be conveniently had, that he might sett a small house up fore theire refreshment on the Sabbath day when they come to attend the worship of God.”

Some historian has described these Sabbath day houses as follows: “A Sabbath day house was a hut in one end of which horses might be sheltered, and in the other end was a room having a fireplace, and furnished perhaps with a bench, a few chairs and a table. Here the owner arrived soon after the first drum, and if cold, kindled a fire. Here they deposited their lunch and any wraps that might be superfluous in the meeting house. Hither they came to spend the intermission of worship.

When John Woodcock built the Garrison house at Ten Mile river, he was eleven miles from the Rehoboth church, and only two miles from Wrentham. In the petition to the General court for authority to incorporate the town of Attleboro in 1694, the committee, of whom John Woodcock was chairman, mention was made of the inconvenience of going so far to Rehoboth to worship God, especially in stormy weather.

17 Feb 1693/94 – John Woodcock (with Joanna l his wife) sold for £390 money in hand received to John Devotion, of ” Muddy River, formerly of Boston.” a tract of land containing two hundred and ten acres, being ” at a place commonly called ten mile river, by a highway called Wrentham lane,” etc., ” with the mansion or dwelling house, barn, and all other out-housing and buildings (the Smith’s shop only excepted standing on the river) ; “Also about thirty acres lying on the northwest side of the country road formerly given to his son, John Woodcock, bounded by Ten Mile River, etc., with his son’s dwelling house and barn on the same. ” John Devotion took quiet possession of the same April 9th 1694, in presence of Nathaniel Brentnall, William Chaplin.” In this conveyance to Devotion is the following curious item:

” Also, all the said John Woodcock, his right to, and privilege in, a house and pasture at Wrentham for accommodation of his family and horses on Sabbath days and other public times, as occasion may be.”

As we have seen, he formerly had a house at Rehoboth for a similar purpose. From this and other records it appears that Woodcock and his family were very attentive to public worship.

Woodcock laid out the ancient burying-ground near his house. In the above-mentioned conveyance is the following reservation : ” Except a small parcel of at least six rods square or the contents thereof, for a burying place, in which my wife and several of my children and neighbors are interred, with liberty for my children and neighbors to come upon and make use therof forever as occasion may be.

Children of John and Sarah

i. Samuel Woodcock b. ca 1645 in Roxbury, MA; d. 28 Apr 1676 in Rehoboth, MA Killed in an Indian attack on his home during King Philip’s War .; m. 3 Jan 1668/89 n Rehoboth, MA. to Mary Newman

iii. John Woodcock b. ca 1649 Roxbury, Mass; d. 10 Jul 1718 Dedham, Mass; Brothers John and Israel married their wives on the same day. On 21 Feb 1672/73 John first married Sarah Smith, daughter of Francis Smith (-12 Aug 1690) & Elizabeth [__?__], in Rehoboth, MA. Born on 5 May 1655 in Boston, MA. Sarah died in Swansea, MA, on 16 May 1676; she was 21.

On 5 Nov 1682 in Dedham, Mass, John second married Sarah Judson, M Sary, the Daughter of Samuell Judson & Mary his wife, was borne ye 34 of the 5 mo. 1651. Sarah died in Dedham, MA, on 18 Mar 1717/18; she was 66.

v. Mary Woodcock b. 9 Mar 1650/1 Roxbury, Mass; d. aft 1697 Medford, Mass; On 29 Nov 1676 when Mary was 25, she married Samuel Guild, son of John Guild & Elizabeth Crook, in Dedham, MA. Samuell Guild & Mary Woodcock married the 29th 9th 1676. Born on 7 Nov 1647 in Dedham, MA.Samuell, the Son of John & Elizabeth Guild, was borne the 7 of the 9 mo. 1647. Samuel died in Medfield, MA, on 1 Jan 1729/30; he was 82.

vi. Thomas Woodcock b. ca 1657 Roxbury, Mass; d. ca 1707 Bristol, RI;

vii. Nathaniel Woodcock b. ca 1660, Roxbury; d. 28 Apr 1676 Attleboro; Killed by Indians while working in a nearby corn field. The Indians cut off Nathaniel’s head and stuck it on a pole in front of the house. Nathaniel Woodcock was buried where he fell, and his grave is now in the center of what would become the Woodcock Cemetery.

John DRYDEN (1525 – 1584) was Alex’s 12th great grandfather, one of 8,192 in this generation of the Miner line. His son Erasmus was made a Baronet, and two of his descendants were literary stars of the 17th and 18th Centuries. He was great grandfather of John Dryden (1631 – 1700) and the 2nd great grandfather of Jonathan Swift (1667 – 1745).

John Dryden Coat of Arms

John Dryden was born about 1525. His parents were David DRYDEN and Isabel NICHOLSON. He married Elizabeth COPE in 1553 in Canons Ashby Parish, Northamptonshire, England.. John died on 30 Sep 1584.

Elizabeth Cope was born about 1529. Her parents were Sir John COPE and Bridget RALEIGH. Elizabeth died 30 Sep 1584.

We can trace Elizabeth’s Cope’s ancestry back 12 generations to EDWARD I. (Check out my EDWARD I post for thumbnail sketches of some interesting characters)

Front of Canons Ashby House

Elizabeth was sole heiress of Sir John Cope, through whom the Drydens inherited Canons Ashby House, an Elizabethanmanor house located in Canons Ashby, Daventry, Northamptonshire, England. It has been owned by the National Trust since 1981, although “The Tower” is in the care of the Landmark Trust and available for holiday lets.

Rear of Canons Ashby House

It has been the home of the Dryden family since its construction in the 16th century. The manor house was built in approximately 1550 with additions in the 1590s, in the 1630s and 1710; it has remained essentially unchanged since the 1710s.

John Dryden had married Elizabeth Cope in 1551 and inherited, through his wife, an L-shaped farmhouse which he gradually extended. In the 1590s his son, Sir Erasmus Dryden completed the final north range of the house which enclosed the Pebble Courtyard.

The interior of the house is noted for its Elizabethan wall paintings and its Jacobean plasterwork.

The house sits in the midst of a formal garden with colourful herbaceous borders, an orchard featuring varieties of fruit trees from the 16th century, terraces, walls and gate piers from 1710. There is also the remains of a medieval priory church (from which the house gets its name).

John Dryden (wikipedia) b. c 19 Aug 1631, d. 12 May 1700; An influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden. Walter Scott called him “Glorious John.” He was made Poet Laureate in 1667.

He succeeded to the title of 2nd Baronet Dryden, of Canons Ashby, co. Northampton [E., 1619] on 22 May 1632. He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) for Northanptonshire. He held the office of High Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1634.

George was left land in Adstone by his father. George married Katherine Throckmorton as her second husband. Katherine was the daughter of Clement and Catherine (Neville) Throckmorton of Hasely, co. Warwick. She married first Thomas Harby of Adston [Adstone, Northamptonshire]. She married third John Wilmer of Shrowley. Katherine was a first cousin of Lady Elizabeth (Throckmorton) Raleigh. Lady Elizabeth was Sir Walter Raleigh‘s wife, and a Lady of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I of England. Their secret marriage precipitated a long period of royal disfavour for Raleigh. I don’t know how closely George’s grandmother Bridget Raleigh was related to Sir. Walter.

Bridget Dryden was born in 1563 in Canons, Ashby, Northamptonshire, England. Her parents were John DRYDEN (1525 – 1584) and Elizabeth COPE (1529 – 1584). Bridget was sister of Sir Erasmus Dryden,1st Baronet (1553–1632) If I count my relatives correctly that makes them second cousins once removed. John Dryden was also a second cousin once removed of Jonathan Swift. After Francis died, she married in 1620 in London to Thomas Newman. Bridget died 02 Apr 1645 in Berkhamsted, Hartford, England.

Francis MARBURY (1555 – 1611) was Alex’s 11th great grandfather, one of 4,096 in this generation of the Miner line. According to wikipedia, he was a Cambridge educated English clergyman, school master, and Puritan reformer now remembered as a playwright and the father of Anne Hutchinson.

Francis’ daughter Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643) is probably the most influential woman in Colonial American history. It was very rare during those times for a woman to have an independent impact on history (unless she was Royalty – including Pocahantus) for hundreds of years after her life. Abigail Adams was famous because of her work with her husband. I can’t think of anyone who surpassed Hutchinson until Susan B Anthony (1820-1906) which was over two hundred years later. Can can you think of any woman in between who surpassed Hutchinson?

The story of Francis Marbury helps explain how her character was shaped. He probably focused on his daughters education when he was under house arrest unable to work. Francis wasn’t a big theological dissenter, but he did say the clergy was stupid and uneducated under the administration of a pompous Bishop of London and wrote a satirical play while imprisoned at Marshalsea Prison (of Charles Dickens fame).

Francis Marbury Coat of Arms

Francis Marbury was born 27 Oct 1555 in Alford, Lincolnshire, England, though he may have been baptized at St. Pancras, Soper Lane, London, on 27 Oct 1555. His parents were William MARBURY (1524 – 1581) and Agnes LENTON (1528 – 1581). He first married about 1580 to Elizabeth Moore, and had three children with her. By the time he was released from prison for the last time, he was a widower and chose to move from Northampton. He married Bridget DRYDEN before 1591 and they settled in the town of Alford, Lincolnshire. Francis died 14 Feb 1611 in Alford, Lincolnshire, England.

Bridget Dryden was born in 1563 in Canons, Ashby, Northamptonshire, England. Her parents were John DRYDEN (1525 – 1584) and Elizabeth COPE (1529 – 1584). Bridget was sister of Sir Erasmus Dryden,1st Baronet (1553–1632) grandfather of the poet John Dryden. If I count my relatives correctly that makes them second cousins once removed. John Dryden was also a second cousin once removed of Jonathan Swift. After Francis died, she married in 1620 in London to Thomas Newman. Bridget died 02 Apr 1645 in Berkhamsted, Hartford, England.

Thousands of Americans can claim the Marbury family’s lineal connections to their royal and noble ancestry, from William the Conqueror through Edward I. These ancestors include John, King of England, who signed the Magna Carta in 1215 at Runnymede, as well as many of the barons who witnessed his signature on that famous document. All later kings of Spain, Holy Roman and Austrian emperors, most later English and French kings, all kings of Prussia and Russian czars, beginning with Alexander I, are distant cousins as well.

Alex’s 12th Great Grandfather and Francis’ father, William MARBURY, of Birsby in Burgh-upon-Bain, co. Lincolnshire, gentleman, was born ca 1524 as he is listed as age one in 1525. He was matriculated as a fellow-commoner from Pembroke College, Cambridge in Easter, 1544. He married Agnes LENTON, daughter of John LENTON, esquire. In his will dated Jan 26, 1580/81 and proved Nov 16, 1581, Williams bequeathed to the poor students of Oxford and Cambridge, to “cousins” (probably means grandchildren) Thomas, Edward and George, to son Francis, during his mother’s life, to daughters Mary and Katherine, to daughter [Anne Blox]holme, to wife Agnes, to second son Edwards, to eldest son, William.

Alex’s 13th Great Grandfather and Francis’ grandfather Robert MARBURY of Girsby in Burgh-upon-Bain, Lincolnshire, was born probably about 1490, and mentioned as “neve” in the will of his uncle Robert who leaves him lands in Lowick, Oldwyncall, Islip, Denford and Boygstoke.

Robert married Katherine WILLIAMSON, who was born about 1508, the daughter of John WILLIAMSON and Jane ANGEVINE. On Jan 26, 1518, “…the aforesaid jurors further say that the aforesaid John Williamson died on the 24th day of March in the fourth year of the present lord King (1512/13) and that Katherine Williamson is the daughter and next heir of the same John Williamson and is of the age (at that time, i.e., 1517/18) of this inquisition of nine years and above, and is now committed by the lord King to the wardship to Thomas Hennage, esquire…”

It is possible that Katherine (Williamson) Marbury died in childbirth, as she died on Aug 11, 1525 at the age of about seventeen years, leaving her husband Robert Marbury and a son William, three-quarters of a year old in 1525.

The jurors of the inquisition into the estate of Katherine Marbury, taken at Horncastle on June 12, 1526 said that Katherine had died on August 11, 1525 alone seised of and in…”the messuage, five acres of pasture and forty ares of arable land…called Northorpe in Hemingby…and of and in two tofts (also in Hemingby)…and…one messuage and five acres of pasture…in the town and fields of Boston next to the stream called Old Fen Dike…and one messuage, 23 acres and 3 roods of land lying in Gattoft in Leake in a certain place called “the Hungate” next to the church of Leake..and in ten acres of land…in Wrangel…” As extended, these lands were worth together £2, 14s, 10d. yearly. “…and the aforesaid Katherine; being so seised…took as her husband Robert Marbury esquire, whereby the aforesaid Robert and Katherine were seised thereof in the right of the same Katherine; and the said Robert and Katherine had issue, lawfully procreated between them, a certain William Marbury and…the aforesaid Katherine died seised…and the aforesaid Robert Marbury survived her, and is still living, and remains entered as tenant, by the law of England by reason of the aforesaid offspring…and that the aforesaid William Marbury is the son and next heir of the same Katherine Marbury, and is of the age at the time…of this inquisition of three quarters of a year and above.”

This record confirms that Katherine Marbury and Katherine Williamson are the same person, for her lands in Hemingby, Boston and Leake correspond to the tenements held by her grandfather, Alexander Williamson or his son John, her father.

Robert Marbury was present at the English Court. In the funeral of Henry VII in 1509, he was a yeoman to the King’s Grandame (that is, Henry VIII’s grandmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort).

Lady Margaret Beaufort (1443 – 1509), later Countess of Richmond and Derby, was the mother of King Henry VII

In 1510, as yeoman usher of the Queen’s Chamber, he had a grant to be feodary (A vassal or feudatory – i.e. one who holds land of an overlord on condition of homage) of the duchy of Excester within county Devonshire, during [the King’s] pleasure. In 1513, as Robert Marbury Jr. he was a feofee [a trustee who holds a fief (or “fee”), that is to say an estate in land, for the use of a beneficial owner]., along with Robert Marbury Sr. (his uncle), John Lenton (father of his son’s future wife), and John Marbury, clerk. In 1514, his cousin William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy, was the Queen’s Chamberlain. In the same year, Robert Marbury, yeoman usher of the Queen’s Chamber, was feodary noted above, for life. In 1517, he was appointed to be sergeant at arms, with 12d. a day in consideration of his services to Queen Catherine of Aragon. In 1526, his yearly wage as serjeant at arms in the Royal Household was £18 5s., i.e. still 12d. a day.

Francis' grandfather Robert Marbury served yeoman usher of the Queen's Chamber for Henry VIII's 1st wife, Catherine of Aragon

In the Lincolnshire Rebellion of October 1536, Robert Marbury appears as follows: In the examination of Sir Edward Maddison before the King’s Council…Maddison, with his brother John Maddison and both his sons, then went up into Castrefeld to see the number of rebellious and there met Sir William Askew and Marbery the serjeant and one Boneteene of the Exchequer. The rebels took them all except Boneteyne and Marbury… In a letter from Sir Robert Kyrkham to [our ancestor] Richard CROMWELL: … “Yesterday night late” he was at Stanforde with Sir William Parre and others when Marbery and Madyson, the King’s servants came in, having escaped from the rebels who they say are 20,000…”

Robert died on August 5, 1645. His will made July 28, 1545 was proved on Sep 28, 1545 in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. His executors were “my brother Thomas Merbury, my cosyn John Merbury, my well beloved mother in law mistress Jane Woodfurth and my son William Merbury…and my son William is to have all my goods and land moveable and immovable.” There were many bequests. A curious feature of the will is the reference to his first grandchild , Francis’ brother Robert:

“Item. I will that Robert Merbury the first begotten son of my son William Merbury shall not inherit no part parcell or portion of my rent lands within the counties of Lincolnshire, Darbyshire and Northamptonshire. Item. I will that if my son William Merbury have hereafter issue lawfully begotten that they shall inherit the aforesaid lands, that in nowise the aforesaid Robert Merbury the son of the said William Merbuy shall not inherit any…portion of the foresaid lands…Robert Merbury was born in the month of June in the 37th year of the reign of our sovereign lord king Henry [1545, the month before the date of the will] at Old Wynkle in the house of his grandfather, John Leynton, gentleman. I bequeath to (this?) Robert Merbury forty pounds to be paid to him at the age of 21 years. Item. I will that if my son William Merbury has no issue lawfully begotten as god forbid then I will that my brother Thomas Merbury shall inherit all my foresaid lands and the heirs of his body lawfully begotten. Payment to the said Robert Merbury if he lives to the said 21 years other fourty pounds of sterling money and he to make to the said Thomas and his heirs a release of all such lands as he can make any title to of inheritance.”

Probably the unfortunate infant Robert had some obviously incapacitating birth defect, mental or physical, that would make his inheriting land impractical.

Two inquistions into the estate of Robert Marbury were taken, one in Lincolnshire, the other in county Northampton. In response to the writ dated October 15, 1545, the inquisition into the estate of Robert Marberye who held lands of the kind in chief was taken at the Castle of Lincoln on (15?) October 1545. The jurors said that Robert Marbery had died on August 7, 1545 and that William Marbery was the son and next heir of Robert Marbery his father and also the son and next heir of Catherine his mother, the wife of the aforesaid Robert, of all the aforesaid lands. The other inquisition into the estate of Robert Marburye calls him of Girsby, county Lincoln, esquire. It was taken on October 28, 1545 at Wellingborough, county Northampton. The jurors said that Robert Marburye had died at Girsby on August 7, 1545, at which time William Marburye, the son and heir, was of the age of twenty-one years and more. Robert died seised of three tenements in Lowick, county Northampton, and five in Slipton, Dentford, Woodford, Aldwinkle and Islip, as extended, with a total yearly value of £8 16s. The lands in Northampton were willed to him by his uncle Robert Marbury.

Alex’s 14th Great Grandfather and Francis’ great grandfather William MARBURY, of Lowick, Northampton county, England, esquire, was born ca 1445-53. That he was a man of considerable social standing and prestige in Northampton county is indicated by the fact that he is first mentioned in 1473 as an executor of the will of John Stafford,1st Earl of Wiltshire, the youngest son of Humphrey Stafford, the powerful 1st Duke of Buckingham.

William Marbury married about this time into the prominent family of Blount. His wife Anne BLOUNT, daughter of Sir Thomas BLOUNT and Agnes HAWLEY, was niece of Sir Walter Blount, Lord Mountjoy, K.G., who in 1467 had married Anne Neville, the widow of Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham. The character of Westmorland in William Shakespeare’s plays Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V is based on Anne’s father Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland..

Sir Walter Blount, his wife Anne, Duchess of Buckingham, and William Marbury were co-executors of the will of Anne’s son, John, Earl of Wiltshire. In the will, dated April 21, 1473, the Earl of Wiltshire made William a guardian of his only son, Edward, then age three [ and later Sir Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire (1470 – 1498)] “Also I will pray William Marbury to be attendaunte to my sonne and he to have rule about him.” It was William’s brother, Robert, however, who attended the second Earl in the capacity of gentleman-usher for a period of twenty-five years. In 1494, Edward, the new Earl of Wilshire, alienated the noted old manor of Drayton to William Marbury, et al.

Five years later the Earl died. William Marbury was present when he made his will, and, according to later testamentary proceedings, the Earl entrusted his will (which was “sealed with a signet of gold”) to William Marbury. Marbury in the will is referred to as being enfeoffed of lands in co. Northampton. He, Robert Whittlebury, esquire, and Thomas Montague, gentleman, were made co-executors of the will, and under its terms were directed to form two chantries, one at Lowick, co. Northampton, the other at Pleshy, co. Essex, where the Duchess of Buckingham, the Earl’s grandmother, was buried in 1480. Pleshy was where William’s son, Humphrey, undoubtedly named after Humphrey, Duke of Buckingham, was installed later as minister.

From about 1500 on William Marbury’s name appears quite frequently in the records. From the time of the death of the Earl (1499) until his own death, he, individually, received and held the profits and income of the manors of Drayton and Lowick, his brother Robert holding the former and Robert Whittlebury the latter after his decease. He was an executor of the will of Henry Verr of Great Addyngton (Henry Veer is mentioned in the will of Robert Marbury). From July 9, 1500 to December 8, 1506 he is shown by the Patent Rolls to have been a Commissioner of the Peace at various times for the following counties: Leicester, Lincolnshire, Northampton, and Rutland. On Mar 1, 1500/01 he had founded the chantry at Culworth under the will of Edward, Earl of Wiltshire.

The exact date of death of William is not known. In the Inquisition Post Mortem on the Earl of Wiltshire, William Marbury is shown to have held the manors of Drayton and Lowick from 1499 to October 1 [1512], 28 Henry VII. It would seem that William Marbury died shortly before October 1 [1512], 28 Henry VII. But Henry VII reigned only 24 years! We know, however, that William Marbury was living December 8, 1506, the date he last became Commissioner of the Peace for co. Rutland and was deceased before August 8, 1513, the time of his brother’s will. A subsequent reference to the Inquisition to the church at Lowick being vacant 24 Henry VII suggests that 28 was an error for 24. Assuming this to be true, William Marbury died shortly before October 1, 1508, a date which, if not correct, is certainly approximate.

Anne Blount, who had been born between 1453 and 1462, died on Nov 20, 1537. The inquisition into the estate of Ann Marbury, widow, was taken at Boston, Lincolnshire, on March 14, 1537/38. Long before her death, she had been seised of her contingent shares of the inheritance of Robert Blount, esquire, deceased, as one of his (three) sisters and heirs. When Anne died, her son and heir Robert Marbury, esquire, was aged fifty years and more. Her estate, as extended, consisted of one third of each of fourteen tenements having a net yearly value of £15 10s. 10d. and one farthing.

Alex’s 15th Great Grandfather and Francis’ 2nd great grandfather John MARBURY of Cransley, Northampton county, England, was an armiger by trade. He became a sheriff of Northampton Nov 4, 1433. On Jan 12, 1447/48, John and Thomas Marbury, esquires, witnessed a deed relating to territory in Cransley. John Marbury, esquire, died shortly before Oct 22, 1460, for in the Patent Rolls of that date there is a pardon to “John Marbury late of Cransley, Northampton, esquire, for not appearing before the justices of the Bench to answer the dean and chapter of the new Collegiate church of St. Mary,” Leicestershire.

This John is probably identical with the John Marbury, whom Robert refers to in his will as father, for Cransley is about ten miles from where Robert lived, and no other John Marbury of this period appears in Northampton records. His other son, William, who in 1501 as one of the executors of the will of Edward, Earl of Wiltshire, founded a chantry at Culworth, saw to it that the chantry was founded for the souls of “Johannis Marbury et Elianorae uxoris suea.” Robert Marbury in his will of August 13, 1513 asks prayers to be said for the souls of his father, John Marbury, and his mother, Eleanor. The daughters of John and Eleanor have not been positively ascertained, but their sons have

Back to Francis’s Biography

Francis Marbury matriculated at Christ’s College, Cambridge in 1571, but is not known to have graduated. About 1571, Francis Marbury began to teach and preach at the church in Northampton near the estate of his future wife Bridget Dryden.

Francis was ordained deacon on Jan 7, 1577/78. Although Francis himself was a brilliant Anglican clergyman and schoolmaster, he soon found that many of the Anglican ministers were not well educated but appointed to their positions by the ruling bishops for political reasons. As a young man he was a “hothead” and collided with the church authorities, and in particular with Bishop of London John Aylmer, over the issue of the provision of well-educated preachers. His reformist preaching led to two years imprisonment in the Marshalsea

John Aylmer

Aylmer called him an “overthwart, proud, puritan knave” in November 1578, and sent him to the Marshalsea, after hearing Marbury’s views on financing preachers by mulcting (fining) the bishops: “A man might cut a good large thong out of your hyde and the rest, and it would not be missed”.

Francis’ nemesis, John Aylmer was born at Aylmer Hall, Tilney St. Lawrence, Norfolk. While still a boy, his precocity was noticed by Henry Grey, 3rd Marquess of Dorset, later 1st Duke of Suffolk, who sent him to Cambridge, where he seems to have become a fellow of Queens’ College About 1541 he was made chaplain to the duke, and tutor of Greek to his daughter, Lady Jane Grey (the nine day queen)

Alymer’s first preferment was to the archdeaconry of Stow, in the diocese of Lincoln, but his opposition in Convocation to the doctrine of transubstantiation led to his deprivation and to his flight into Switzerland. While there he wrote a reply to John Knox‘s famous Blast against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, under the title of An Harborowe for Faithfull and Trewe Subjects, etc., and assisted John Foxe in translating the Acts of the Martyrs into Latin. On the accession of Elizabeth he returned to England. In 1559 he resumed the Stow archdeaconry, and in 1562 he obtained that of Lincoln. He was a member of the famous convocation of 1562, which reformed and settled the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England.

In 1576, just a year or two before his run in with Francis, Alymer was consecrated Bishop of London, and while in that position made himself notorious by his harsh treatment of all who differed from him on ecclesiastical questions, whether Puritan or Roman Catholic. Various efforts were made to remove him to another see. He is frequently assailed in the famous Mar prelate Tracts, and is characterized as “Morrell,” the bad shepherd, in Edmund Spenser‘s Shepheard’s Calendar (July). Aylmer’s work, particularly his characterisation of England as a mixed monarchy, oligarchy and democracy, would be important to later English constitutionalists. His reputation as a scholar hardly balances his inadequacy as a bishop in the transition time in which he lived.

In 1578 Francis was given a public trial, of which, during a period of house arrest, he made a transcript from memory. He used this transcript to educate and amuse his children, he being the hero, and the Bishop of London being portrayed as a buffoon.

In the Marshalsea, Francis wrote an allegorical play entitled The Contract of Marriage between Wit and Wisdom in 1579. It was a moral interlude or “wit play”, following The Play of Wyt and Science by John Redford, and an adaptation of its sequel The Marriage of Wit and Science.

The Vices in post-Reformation morality plays are almost always depicted as being Catholic. At times this depiction is achieved through their physical appearance. For example, Vices in post-Reformation morality plays would be dressed as cardinals, friars, monks, or the pope. Often times, the Vice in post-Reformation plays admits that Catholic theology is flawed, and that by being Catholic the Vice is committing treason. Moreover, Vices often appear ignorant and naive, especially when it comes to their biblical understanding and knowledge of the New Testament.

The Marshalsea prison occupied two locations, the first c. 1329–1811, and the second 1811–1842. The image above is of the first Marshalsea in the 18th century.

The Marshalsea was a prison on the south bank of the River Thames in Southwark, now part of London made infamous in the works of Charles Dickens. From the 14th century until it closed in 1842, it housed men under court martial for crimes at sea, including those accused of“unnatural crimes”, political figures and intellectuals accused of sedition like Francis Marbury, and—most famously—London’s debtors, the length of their stay determined largely by the whim of their creditors.

Run privately for profit, as were all prisons in England until the 19th century, the Marshalsea looked like an Oxbridge college and functioned as an extortion racket.For prisoners who could pay, it came with access to a bar, shop, and restaurant, as well as the crucial privilege of being allowed out during the day, which meant debtors could earn money to satisfy their creditors. Everyone else was crammed into one of nine small rooms with dozens of others, possibly for decades for the most modest of debts, which increased as unpaid prison fees accumulated. A parliamentary committee reported in 1729 that 300 inmates had starved to death within a three-month period, and that eight to ten prisoners were dying every 24 hours in the warmer weather.

In fact, Marbury found himself imprisoned three times before age 23 for preaching against the incompetence of English ministers and thus by implication, the British monarchy. He spent time far from London in Northampton, and Alford, Lincolnshire, unable to preach.

Francis was married for the first time about 1580 to Elizabeth Moore, with three children. By the time he was released from prison for the last time, he was a widower and chose to move from Northampton. He married Bridget Dryden before 1591 and they settled in the town of Alford, Lincolnshire, about 140 miles north of London. He was the curate [deputy vicar] at St. Wilfred’s Church In 1585 he also became the schoolmaster at the Alford Free Grammar School, one of many such public schools, free to the poor, begun by Queen Elizabeth. The school is still in existence and currently has 563 students. The school motto is Cor Unum Via Una which translates as “One heart and goal are we,” and is also the title of the school song.

Francis taught at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Alford still in existence more than 425 years later

St. Wilfrid's Church, Alford

The Marbury home was a busy one, as Bridget Marbury gave birth over the years to fifteen children. By 1590, Francis was again in trouble over his quarrels with the Anglican leaders. They accused him of being a Puritan and, even though he won his trial, he was forbidden to preach again for several years.

In 1590, Marbury once again felt emboldened to speak out against his superiors, denouncing the Church of England for selecting poorly educated bishops and poorly trained ministers.The Bishop of Lincoln, calling him an “impudent Puritan,” removed him from preaching and teaching, and put him under house arrest Without employment, he tended his gardens and tutored his children, reading to them from his own writings, the Bible, and John Foxe‘s Book of Martyrs, which, with its gore, was fascinating reading to the Marbury children. This experience must have been very important in the strong religious conviction his daughter Anne Hutchinson later displayed in New England.

Somehow the family was able to survive, perhaps from borrowing from the Drydens.Marbury, who had become desperate without a job, pleaded to church officials that he wasn’t a Puritan, and to return him to his posts. He wrote to the new the Bishop of London, and also asked other ministers to vouch for his good character.

Finally, in 1594, he was permitted to once again preach and teach. From this point forward, Marbury resolved to curb his tongue, and not openly question those in positions of authority, and eventually he was promoted with a position back in London. He became lecturer at St Saviour, Southwark. With the support of Richard Vaughan, the Bishop of London, he was rehabilitated and moved to London. On June 24, 1605 Francis was finally ordained a priest and the Marbury family moved to the heart of London where Francis was installed as Rector of St Martin Vintry on October 28, 1605. Here his Puritan views, though somewhat muffled, were nevertheless present and tolerated, since there was a shortage of pastors.

In 1608, he took on additional work as rector of St Pancras, Soper Lane several miles northwest of the city, traveling there by horseback twice a week. In 1610 he was able to replace that position with one much closer to home, and became rector of St Margaret, New Fish Street only a short walk from Saint Martin in the Vintry. Francis was holding two of these offices simultaneously when he died shortly before February 11, 1611. His nuncupative will, made June 25, 1610, was proved February 14, 1611. In it he left 200 pounds to each of his twelve living children and stated that the girls must stay with their mother until they married.

87 parish churches were destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666. 51 were rebuilt, but 35 were not including the three where Francis had been rector.

Central London in 1666, with the burnt area shown in pink.

In 1670 a Rebuilding Act was passed and a committee set up under the stewardship of Sir Christopher Wren to decide which would be rebuilt. St Martin Vintry parish was united with that of St Michael Paternoster Royal. St Pancras, Soper Lane parish was united with that of St Mary-le-Bow. St Margaret Fish Street Hill received many gifts from the pilgrims who passed it on the way to and from London Bridge.Following the fire it was united to St Magnus-the-Martyr

Bridget Dryden, was the daughter of John Dryden and Elizabeth Cope, large estate owners in central England. Many in her family were Puritans, and at least one relative had been imprisoned in the Tower of London for suggesting religious reforms. Bridget Marbury spent much of her time helping others. She was a skilled midwife, and assisted the women of the community whenever they were giving birth. As she grew older, Anne accompanied her mother on these goodwill visits, and in time she herself became a midwife.

Children

6. Anne Marbury

Anne Hutchinson (1591–1643) was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts. She was a Puritan whose religious ideas were at odds with the established Puritan clergy in the Boston area, and her popularity and charisma created a schism in the Boston church which threatened to destroy the Puritans’ religious experiment in New England. Creating the most challenging situation for the ruling magistrates and ministers during her first three years in Boston, she was eventually tried and convicted, then banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony with many of her followers.

Anne is a key figure in the study of the development of religious freedom in England’s American colonies and the history of women in ministry. She challenged the authority of the ministers, exposing the subordination of women in the culture of colonial Massachusetts. Although her religious ideas remain controversial, her implicit rejection of state authority to prescribe specific religious rites and interpretations, was later enshrined in the American Constitution. The State of Massachusetts honors her with a State House monument calling her a “courageous exponent of civil liberty and religious toleration.”

Anne Hutchinson Massachusetts State House Monument

Born in Alford, Lincolnshire, England, Anne was the daughter of Francis Marbury, an Anglican minister with strong Puritan leanings, he was also a school teacher, and when under house arrest, he used his time to teach his children, and Anne grew up with a far better education than most girls, who generally had few educational opportunities in 16th century England.

The Marburys lived in Alford for the first 15 years of Anne’s life, and with her father’s strong commitment to learning, she received a better education than most contemporary girls, and also became intimately familiar with scripture and Christian tenets. While education at that time was almost exclusively offered to boys and men, one reason that Marbury may have focused on teaching his daughters is that his five oldest surviving children were all girls; another reason may have been that the ruling class in Elizabethan England began realizing that girls could be schooled, looking to the example of the queen, who spoke six foreign languages.

As a young adult living in London, she married there an old friend from Alford, William Hutchinson, and the couple moved back to Alford where they began a family and visited various churches in the area. Hearing of a dynamic young preacher named John Cotton in the market town of Boston, Lincolnshire, about 21 miles away, the couple went to hear him preach, and thereafter made the difficult trip by horseback at every opportunity. Enamored with Cotton’s preaching, Anne Hutchinson was distraught when Cotton was compelled to emigrate following threats of imprisonment for his Puritan messages and practices.

Anne’s husband William Hutchinson was born 14 Aug 1586 in Alford, Lincolnshire, England. His parents were Edward Hutchinson (1555 – 1631) and Susanna Kealle (1564 – 1645). He was the grandson of John Hutchinson (1515-1565) who had been Sheriff, Alderman, and Mayor of the town of Lincoln. William died in 1642 in Boston, Suffolk, Mass.

In 1634, after the birth of her 14th child, Hutchinson followed Cotton to New England with her husband and 11 living children, and soon became well established in the growing settlement of Boston, in the English colonies. She was a midwife, and very helpful to those needing her assistance. In 1637, Anne delivered a stillborn, deformed baby of her friend and future Boston Martyr, Mary Dyer. Puritans believed that birth defects were punishments for the parents sins. See below for the story of Mary and Anne’s troubles with the Puritan authorities.

She was very forthcoming with her personal religious opinions and understandings. Soon she was hosting women at her house once a week, providing commentary on recent sermons, and sharing her religious views, including criticism of many local ministers. These meetings became so popular, that she soon began offering meetings to men as well, to include the young governor of the colony, Harry Vane, and up to 80 people a week were visiting her house to learn from her interpretations and views of religious matters. As a follower of Cotton, she espoused a “covenant of grace,” while accusing all of the local ministers (except for Cotton and her husband’s brother-in-law, John Wheelwright) of preaching a “covenant of works.” Several ministers complained about Hutchinson to John Winthrop, who served several terms as governor of the colony, and eventually the situation erupted into what is known as the Antinomian Controversy, resulting in Hutchinson’s 1637 trial, conviction, and banishment from the colony.

Anne Hutchinson Preaching

With encouragement from Roger Williams, Hutchinson and many followers established the settlement of Portsmouth in what would become the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. She lived there for a few years, but after her husband’s death, threats of Massachusetts taking over Rhode Island compelled her to move totally outside the reach of Boston, into the lands of the Dutch. Sometime in 1642 she settled with her younger children in New Netherland near an ancient landmark called Split Rock in what would later become Bronx, New York City. Here she had a home built, but tensions with the native Siwanoy were high, and following inhumane treatment by the Dutch, the natives went on a series of rampages known as Kieft’s War, and in August 1643, all but one of the 16 members of Hutchinson’s household including six of her children were massacred during an attack. The lone survivor, nine-year old Susanna Hutchinson, was taken captive, and held for several years before being returned to family members in Boston. For more on this conflict, see the story of our ancestor Hendrick Thomasse Van DYKE (1610 – 1688) who commanded an attack during Klieft’s War.

7. Erasmus Marbury

Erasmus matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford on 12 Apr 1616, age 19. He received his BA from there on 6 Jun 1616 and his MA on 9 Jul 1619.

10. Jeremuth Marbury

Jeremuth matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford on 11 Jun 1619, age 18. He received his BA from Exeter College, Oxford on 23 Jan 1622/23.

13. Anthony Marbury

Anthony matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford on 20 Oxford 1626, age 18. He received his BA from Pembroke College, Oxford on 22 Feb 1627/28.

Rev. Henry DILLINGHAM (1568 – 1625) was Alex’s 11th Great Grandfather; one of 4,096 in this generation of the Shaw line. Two of his children, Edward and John were early immigrants.

Dillingham – Coat of Arms

Henry Dillingham may have been born in 1568, Dean, Bedfordshire, England. His father was William DILLINGHAM (c. 1527 -24 Feb 1602/03, Cotesbach, Leicestershire, England) and Kathrina MARSTON. He married Oseth [__?__] in 1591 in Cotesbach, Leicestershire, England. After Oseath died, he married Margaret [__?__]. Henry died 4 Dec 1625, Cotesbach, Leicestershire, England at age 57 and was buried 9 Dec 1625, Cotesbach, Leicestershire, England .

St. Mary’s Church, Cotesbach, Leicester, England – Henry Dillingham Rector of Cottesbach who was also patron of the living of Bitteswell in 1606. His son Edward was a Gentleman landowner of Bitteswell before emmigrating to Massachusetts in 1632.

Oseth [__?__] was born in 1568 in Cottesbach, , Leicestershire, England. Oseth died 16 Jun 1609 in Cottesbach, Leicestershire, England

between 1 May 1666 when he wrote his will and 5 June 1667 when it was proven in Sandwich, Plymouth Colony.

4.

Gilbert Dillingham

bapt.
24 Oct 1597
Cotesbach, LeicestershireEngland

19 Aug 1609

5.

Mary Dillingham

5 May 1600
Cotesbach, Leicestershire England

21 Oct 1609
Cotesbach, England

6.

Catherine Dillingham

c. 1600

William Allen
of Burrow, Leics

7.

Martha Dillingham

29 Jan 1601/02
Cotesbach, Leicestershire England

11 Jul 1609
Cotesbach, England

8.

Oseath Dillingham

12 Feb 1602/03
Cotesbach, Leicestershire England

9.

John Dillingham

13 July 1606 Cottesbach, Leicestershire

Sarah [__?__]

1635
Ipswich, Mass

Repeated tragedy struck in 1609 when his wife and four of his children died within 4 months.

Rev. Henry Dillingham was the rector of Coltesbach in Leicester and also owned a freehold estate in the neighboring parish of Bitteswell.

Notes prob by Dean Dudley Edward Dillingham … Most probably the son of Edward Dillingham Gent Freeholder in 1630 (see Nichols History of Leicester Vol 4 Part 1 Page 42) Son of Rev Henry Dillingham Rector of Cottesback who was also patron of the living of Bitteswell in 1606 (ditto p 47) Rev Henry Dillingham of Cottesback d.Dec 9 1625 and on his monument is “Henry Dillingham qui his sepullus est Dec 9 1625”. He was Rector of the Parish of Cottesback from 1607 until Dec 1625 (ditto p 148,150). Edward Dillingham of Sandwich named his eldest son after his own grandfather the Rector. Notes by ED Later it seems to have been figured out that Edward Dillingham Gent Freeholder was in fact the immigrant. He married and had one of his sons in England. His brother John came here in 1630 with Gov Winthrop; Edward followed in 1632. Rev Henry b c1555 Rector 1607 d 1625 Edward Gent b c1580 Edward Immigrant b c1605 m c1626 Emigrant 1630 Deputy 1642 d 1667 Henry his son b 1627 in England Rev Henry b c1570 Rector 1607 d 1625 Edward Immigrant b c1600 m c1626 Emigrant 1630 Deputy 1642 d 1667 Henry his son b 1627 in England The latter seems more likely, since all the generations of our family run more than 30 years. The former requires that the Rev Henry was 52 years old when he became Rector. If we could find the Rev Henry’s date of birth it would probably settle the question completely. [WE DID! He was the second of four brothers and was born in 1568, son of William.] But Margaret Haile says Henry received his BA from Christ’s College (Cambridge) in 1574/5; MA 1578; ordained Deacon and Priest 1581; Rector of Cotesbach 1581; died there December 1625. This makes him born c.1550 and getting on when Edward was born 1595, but certainly more likely his father than his grandfather. Based on these arguments I show The Rev Henry as the father of Edward, both Gent Freeholder and Immigrant. Why would a freeholder emigrate? Maybe because the Puritan son of a Church of England clergyman was uncomfortable in England under Charles I, or perhaps because he saw the civil war coming (it started in 1644, I think) and didn’t want to disagree with his father, whom he chose to honor by naming his son Henry. The Reverend Henry Dillingham was born during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and died (Dec 1625, from his tombstone) during the reign of Charles I. [DILLIN.GED]

1602 Document signed Rev. Henry Dillingham

Children

6. Catherine Dillingham

In 1619 William Camden, Clarenceux King of Arms, made a Visitation of the County of Leicester, and recorded pedigrees of many families. The Dillinghams were not so honored, but two of them married above their station and appear in the Allen and Marstone pedigrees. William Allen of Burrow, Leics married Katherina (or Catherine) daughter of Henry Dillingham of Deane. Was this our Henry? He might have moved from Deane to Cottesbach afterward; alternately this might have been his cousin. Winthrop Alexander has the same source: “William Allen of Burrow, county Leicester, aged 26 in 1619, married Katherine, daughter of Henry Dillingham of Dean. Their first child was born 1619.” Alexander does not identify her father Henry as the father of Edward, etc. and lists his eight children by name. Katherine would fit in the middle of these. Moreover, Henry was Rector of Cottesbach in 1600. Henry father of Katherine may be a cousin of our Henry. [DILLIN.GED]

9. John Dillingham

Edward’s brother John Dillingham also immigrated. While Edward lived in Plymouth, John was up north in Ipswich.

John Dillingham, brother of Edward, sons of Henry and Oseth. Edward was appointed his executor 6 Sept 1636. Arrived in Plymouth either with Edward or earlier. Possibly John in 1630, Edward in 1632. From a Caldwell genealogy: John Dillingham was from Leicestershire, and came in the fleet with Winthrop. He was first at Boston. He received his title and was made a freeman in 1630. His name appears in Ipswich in 1634, the year following the settlement of the town by Winthrop and twelve others. In November 1634 he had a grant of six acres in Ipswich, lying on the west side of the town and the north side of the great swamp. He sold marsh lands to William Payne. He probably died in 1635. Mr. Savage says that “dead” is written against his name (No.71) in the list at Boston. At the time of his death he had an adventure of 604 pounds 3s 11p on board ship Sea Flower. He left a wife, Sarah, and two children, Edward and Sarah. The wife and son very soon followed him to the grave. July 10, 1636, Widow Sarah Dillingham, made her will being then “weak and sick.” Edward, the son, was then dead, and the little Sarah was committed to the guardianship of Richard Saltonstall, Esquire and Mr Samuel Appleton. Winthrop Alexander quotes historical documents about John and his wife Sarah at some length. (pp 249-253). [DILLIN.GED]

[Edward Dillingham, gent. Freeholder of Bitteswell, Co. Leicester Eng., about A. D. 1600. Arms :—Argent, ten fleurs de lis Thomas Dillingham living at. Over Dean, A. D. 1600, had sons, viz.—1 John born 1600, D. D. 2. Theophilus born 1602, Master of Clare Hall, Camb. A. D. 1654, left posterity. Rev. Thomas, of the same family, was Rector of All Saints, Barnwell Co. Northampt. A. D. 1618, left posterity. William wrote a Life of Dr. Chadderton. The family were very numerous in the Parish of Dean about A. D. 1600. • D. D.}

John immigrated in 1630, first living in Boston and then Lynn 1632, and Ipswich 1634. He visited England in late 1631, visiting Essex at least, and returning to New England by 1632. He married by 1634 (and possibly during his visit to England in 1631-2) Sarah Caly; she died at Ipswich between 14 July 1636 (date of will) and 6 September 1636 (court order on estate). John died betwen Dec 1634 (grant of land in Ipswich) and July 1636 (will of wife Sarah).

He was admitted to Boston church as member #71, which would be in the winter of 1630/31.

FREEMAN: Requested 19 October 1630 and admitted 18 May 1631 (both times as “Mr. John Dillingham”).

EDUCATION: Sarah Dillingham made provision in her will for the education of her daughter Sarah, and the estate papers contain references to payments for the child’s education, and to books which belonged to her .

OFFICES: Jury in trial of Thomas Dexter, 3 May 1631 [MBCR 1:86].

ESTATE: In November 1634 granted “six acres of land, lying at the west end of the town [Ipswich] on the south side of the great swamp”; on 29 December 1634 granted sixty acres of meadow in Rock Meadow, also thirty acres of upland adjoining to it [Ipswich Town Records].

Since John Dillingham died about 1635, and his wife within a year or so, the records of their estates are totally intermingled. In 1645, when most of the accounts had been settled, the General Court ordered that the “wills of John and Sarah Dillingham with the inventory shall be kept by Mr. Nowell and Hibbins and Richard Saltonstall discharged [MBCR 2:145; EPR 1:10]. This implies that only one inventory was taken, apparently after both husband and wife had died; the will of John Dillingham has not survived, although that of Sarah has.

On 14 July 1636 “Sarah Dillingham of Ipswich widow” made her will, bequeathing to “my only child Sarah Dillingham my whole estate in land and goods (except such particular legacies as hereafter are named),” but if she dies before marriage or before reaching the age of twenty-one, the estate is to be equally divided among “my mother Thomasine Caly, my brothers Abraham Caly and Jacob Caly, my sister Bull and my sister Bast, the wives of John Bull and John Bast, and my sisters Rebecca Caly and Emme Caly,” all of whom are now living in England; to Mr. Ward, pastor of the Ipswich church, £5; to Richard Saltonstall Esq., £10, and to Mrs. Saltonstall his wife a silver bowl; to Mr. Samuel Appleton, £5, and to his wife a silver porringer; Mr. Saltonstall and Mr. Appleton to be executors [EPR 1:3-4].

The undated inventory, apparently of the estate of both John and Sarah Dillingham, totalled £385 14s. 5d., of which £130 was real estate: “the house with the appurtenances, viz. fencing, apple trees with other fruits in the gardens with 30 acres of uplands, 60 acres of meadow & 6 acres of planting ground near the house,” £130 [EPR 1:4-5].

1645 – Our ancestor John PERKINS was appraiser to the estate of Sarah Dillingham.

John Perkins’ signature on Sarah Dillingham’s Inventory

On 6 September 1636 the General Court ordered that “Mr. Dudley, Mr. Endecot and Mr. Bradstreete, or any two of them, should examine the accounts between Mr. Richard Saltonstall and Edward Dillingham, and report on the estate of John Dillingham and his wife, deceased” [MBCR 1:177; EPR 1:6]. Edward Dillingham, brother of John, had apparently been bequeathed one-third of the estate of John Dillingham in the latter’s will, and nearly ten years passed before he and Richard Saltonstall settled all outstanding differences, with Saltonstall accusing Edward Dillingham of taking unfair advantage. During this time there were several allowances made to the surviving child, Sarah Dillingham, for her maintenance and education. In 1645 the court allowed Richard Saltonstall £924 2s. 1d. from the estate. Also, Dudley, Endicott and Bradstreet were replaced as commissioners by Increase Nowell and Thomas Mayhew, and Mayhew himself was later supplanted by William Hibbins [EPR 1:5-10; WP 3:384].

ohn Dillingham’s movements during his brief span of years in New England are not well recorded, but the following itinerary is suggested. His appearance in several records in late 1630 and early 1631 (request for and admission to freemanship, admission to Boston church, service on criminal trial jury) all point clearly to his arrival in 1630 as part of the Winthrop Fleet. His only residential connection is with Boston, based on church membership, and this is probably where he spent his first year or so in New England.

In late 1631 John Dillingham appears to have made a trip to England, probably returning to New England in early 1632. In a letter of 20 June 1632, James Wall of Witham, Essex, writing to John Winthrop Jr., speaks of “one Mr. John Dillingham of your plantation that had many goods and all the cows I was to receive, and he owed me money but would not speak me when he was here in England, though he was within 2 miles of my house and spoke with some of my kinsmen,” and then goes on at length about how the debt should be recovered [WP 3:80].

Aside from the implication that Dillingham was in England in late 1631 or early 1632, we may have here a clue as to the time of his marriage and the origin of his wife. We know from her will that John Dillingham’s wife Sarah was a Caly, and there may be some relationship with the Thomas Caley of Little Waldingfield in Suffolk, another correspondent of John Winthrop Jr. Note also that Henry Jacie, for many years a close neighbor of the Winthrops in Suffolk, in a letter of 12 June 1633 to John Winthrop Jr., sends his regards to “Mr. Dillingham of Rocksbury” [WP 3:128]; whether this reference represents an actual brief residence of John Dillingham in Roxbury, or simply confusion on Jacie’s part, we cannot tell.

After his return to New England in 1632, Dillingham seems to have taken up residence in Lynn. On 3 September 1633 the General Court appointed commissioners to hear the differences among John Dillingham, Richard Wright and Thomas Dexter, the latter two being associated with Lynn at this date [MBCR 1:108]. On 4 March 1633/4 the General Court ordered that “Mr. Dillingham shall be rated for the cattle he is possessed of, of Mr. Downeings” [MBCR 1:112; see WP 3:91, 163]; Emanuel Downing’s business interests in New England were carried out in Lynn, prior to Downing’s own arrival. Furthermore, John Dillingham’s elder brother Edward, when he came to New England about 1635, sat down at Lynn.

While John Dillingham was not in the list of the first twelve allowed to settle at Ipswich, he must have followed soon after, for he was receiving grants of land there in 1634.

Savage, and some others writing on John Dillingham in later years, have stated that John Dillingham had a son Edward, who had died by the time of Sarah (Caly) Dillingham’s will in 1636. There is no record evidence for this, and it probably derives from a misreading of the complicated estate proceedings of John and Sarah Dillingham, which frequently mention John’s elder brother Edward Dillingham.

There’s a kind of sucker punch in many presentations of American history, wherein we are told that the Puritans left England for America because they had suffered religious persecution—and then the Puritans persecuted other religions here! We’re given the impression that they were looking for freedom of religion and then denied it to others.

In the 1650’s several of our ancestors became Quakers and enduried escalating fines, prison, banishment, whipping and ear cutting. Some of these ancestors were closely involved when four Quakers were condemned to death and executed by public hanging for their religious beliefs in Boston in 1659, 1660 and 1661. Richard SCOTT’s daughter Patience, in June, 1659, a girl of about eleven years, having gone to Boston as a witness against ‘the persecution of the Quakers, was sent to prison; others older being banished. Today we ask, “What kind of people put an 11 year old girl in jail? ”

In our 2011 imagination, the Quakers are the conscientious objector good guys while the Puritans are the hypocritical tyrants. Almost any book you read about the Massachusetts Bay Colony gives you the feeling that the moment those people set foot on shore in America they started betraying their own values. Objectivity is hard to come by when you’re reading about the Puritans. Is our modern perspective accurate?

It’s interesting to note that many of the our first Quaker converts were the children of New England’s early civic and religious leaders.

The Humble Immortals and Lt. Robert Pike

1653 – George MARTIN and Theophilus SHATSWELL were two of the fifteen “humble immortals” who, in 1653, stoutly and successfully maintained for the first time the right of petition for the subjects of the English crown. Lt. Robert Pike, of Salisbury, (son-in-law of Joseph MOYCE) an influential citizen, had denounced a law passed by the General Court, for which he was convicted, fined and disfranchised by the General Court. Lt. Pike, a prominent town official and later a member of the General Court, denounced the law forbidding to preach if not Ordained. Which law was aimed at Joseph PEASLEE and Thomas Macy, believers in the Baptist Doctrine, with Quaker tendencies. The autocratic General Court resented this and Lieutenant Pike was fined over thirteen pounds and bound to good behavior. This punishment caused many citizens of Salisbury and the surrounding towns to petition for a revocation of the sentence. This offended the Court still more, and the signers were called upon to give “a reason for their unjust request”. Out of the seventy-five who signed, the above mentioned fifteen alone refused to recede or apologize, and they were required to give bonds and to “answer for their offense before the County Court”. Their cases were never called to trial, and they thus, by their firm stand, laid the foundation for these rights, which are now granted in all the civilized world.

Joseph Peaslee

Joseph PEASLEE was a lay preacher as well as a farmer, and was reputed to have some skill in the practice of medicine. In the recognition of these natural gifts, he was, undoubtedly, made a citizen of Salisbury “Newtown.”

Later this gift of preaching made trouble in the new settlement and history for Joseph. Soon after he removed to “Newtown,” the inhabitants neglected to attend the meetings for worship in the old town and did not contribute to the support of the minister. They held meetings for-worship at private houses, and in the absence of a minister, Joseph Peaslee and Thomas Macy officiated.The general court, which had jurisdiction over territory from Salem, Massachusetts, to Portsmouth, New Hampshire (was called Norfolk county), soon fined the inhabitants of “Newtown” five shillings each for every neglect of attending meetings in the old town and an additional fine of five shillings each to Joseph and Macy if they exhorted the people in the absence of a minister. This decree was not heeded. Meetings were held and Joseph and his friend continued to preach. The general court made additional decrees and fines, which also were not heeded.

Ralph Allen

1657 – Ralph ALLEN, his brothers, William and Matthew, as well as his brother-in-law, William Newland, were in trouble with the authorities at one time or another because they were Quakers. Ralph had numerous difficulties with the authorities because of his conversion to the Quaker faith in 1657. In 1658, he was deprived of his vote in town meeting. In 1658 and 1659, he had £68 in goods taken from him for refusing to swear to oaths and for attending Friends Meeting. In 1661, he was jailed in Boston. They were liberated by order of Charles II who came to the Throne in 1660, but were taken from the jail and whipped through several towns before being set at liberty.

Ralph and William were called to serve on the jury but declined to take the oath. They were arraigned before the Court for having “disorderly” meetings at their houses. It was the old story of religious persecution. The charge was based on the fact that a few Friends had met in silence to wait upon God. Assembling like this was viewed by the magistrates as a grave offence and each was fined 20 shillings with an order they should find sureties (bond) in the sum of £80 for their good behavior in the following six months. If they agreed to this, it would imply acknowledgement of the offence and agreement to stop their Quaker worship, so they unhesitatingly refused to comply. They were then put in jail for five months. After two and a half months in jail, they were offered their freedom if they agreed not to receive or listen to a Quaker but this they promptly refused to do.

Ralph Allen and six of his brothers and sisters continued with their Quaker meetings. The local ministers and magistrates seemed to have especially singled out the Allen family…they were the only individuals required to take the “oath of fidelity.”

See Elder George ALLEN‘s page for the stories of Ralph’s Quaker siblings. George Sr. was an Anabaptist. Maybe that’s why many of his children became Quakers.

Ralph’s brother George was fined on 8 June 1651 for failing to serve as a juror, and on 7 Oct 1651 both he and Hannah were fined for failure to attend public worship. George was also fined on several occasions for refusing to take the Oath of Fidelity to the King.

In 1675, however, records indicate that George changed his mind and took the Oath of Fidelity. 23 Feb 1675 – The town recorded the name of George Allen among those who had established their right to the privileges of the town. It may be that the town was admitting him to the franchise which had been taken from him for becoming a Quaker. The list of those voted to have a just right and interest in the town privileges included George Allen plus Caleb, Frederick, John, William, Ralph, and Francis Allen.

George may have been reprimanded by the Quakers for his 1657 marriage to Sarah who was not a Quaker, and later, on 3 June 1687, he acknowledged his wrongdoing. In 1683, George’s relationship with the Quakers of Sandwich became strained over the marriage of their daughter, Lydia, to Edward Wooley who was not a Quaker. [unconfirmed single source]

Ralph’s brother William and William’s wife Priscilla were very active and outspoken supporters of the Quaker movement, and over the years they were often fined for holding meetings and for entertaining visiting Quakers in their home. Aside from the monetary fines, William and Priscilla also had property seized, and on several occasions William had to endure whipping.

The Sandwich Friends Monthly Meeting, held at William Allen’s 4:3mo.: 1683 records on page 33. the intention of marriage of William Gifford to Mary Mills. “both of Sandwich”. At the same meeting, Gifford contributed 50 shillings to the meeting for the purchase of a cow. The marriage took place at the Meeting of 16 day 5mo.: 1683, the couple “having expressed their intentions at two meetings”. Both, again, are called of Sandwich”, and both signed the certificate (not by mark). It is interesting to note that there were thirty witnesses: [our relations are in bold] William and John Newland: George. William, Francis, Jedediah, Zachariah Allen, Stephen Wing, Edward Perry, Lodowick Hauksie, Jedediah Jones. Thomas Grennell, Isaac Turner and John Goodspeed. Also Rose Newland: Susannah, Hannah and Elizabeth Jenkins: Priscilla, Hannah, Mary and two Elizabeth Allens; Lydia Gaunt, Jane Landers, Sarah Wing. Mary Perry, Mary Hauksie, Experience Goodspeed and Mary Turner. But none of the children of William Gifford signed the document, nor did James Mills, brother of the bride.

In one instance in 1661, Sheriff George Barlow of Sandwich [father-in-law to William’s brother Francis] went to William’s home while William was in jail in Boston. Having already seized the majority of William and Priscilla’s moveable property, Sheriff Barlow went into their home and took Priscilla’s last cooking pot and bag of meal. Upon doing so he sneered;

“Now Priscilla, how will thee cook for thy family and friends, thee has no kettle.”

Priscilla then replied;

“George, that God who hears the young ravens when they cry will provide for them, I trust in that God, and I verily believe the time will come when thy necessity will be greater than mine.”

Edward Perry and Mary Freeman

1654 – By the time Edward Perry, son of our ancestor Edmund PERRY was 23 years old, he had moved to the little town of Sandwich, where many of the Quakers settled.

His name first appears in the records of Sandwich, Plymouth Colony, for November 1652 when he was a member of a committee to acquire and store fish for the town’s use. In 1653 he was appointed a grand juryman. He was surveyor of highways in 1657, 1658, and 1674.

Due to his Quaker beliefs, when Edward married Mary Freeman [daughter of our ancestor Edmund FREEMAN], he refused the services of the authorized magistrate, choosing a Quaker ceremony instead. On March 7, 1653/54, the Court fined him five pounds for not being legally married and ordered him to have the marriage ratified. He refused and at the next session of the Court, on June 6, 1654, the Court ordered “Edward Perrry, for refusing to have his marriage ratified before Mr.Prence according to order of Court, is fined five pounds for this present Court and so five pounds for each General Court that shall be during the time of his said neglect for the future.”

Note that Edward employed a Quaker wedding ceremony in 1654, 3 years before the first Quaker congregation was established in Plymouth Colony, and 4 years before he formally joined that organization. The Quaker religious movement had been going since the late 1640’s, so there is nothing strange about him being a practicing Quaker before a Quaker “meeting” (congregation) existed in his area. The fact that his father-in-law, a very tolerant Puritan, was Lt Governor helped to deflect some of the Puritan anger, but the fines were still massive.

The Plymouth Colony records contain an entry for 7 Mar 1654 under the heading of “fines”: “Edward Perry, for unorderly proceeding, contrary to order of the Court, about his marriage, is fined five pound.” On the same date: “Thomas Tupper, for his negligence in not causing Edward Perry, of Sandwidg, to bee by him orderly married, being by the Court appointed to merry persons there, was required henceforth to desist, and is not intrusted with that business any more.”

On 6 Jun 1654 the Court again imposed a fine: “Edward Perry, for refusing to have his marriage rattifyed before Mr. Prence according to the order of Court, is fined five pounds for this present Court, and soe five pounds for every Generall Court that shall bee during the time of his said neglect for the future.”

On August 1, 1654, Edward was again fined. The final outcome of the conflict isn’t know but Edward’s difficulties didn’t cease. At the beginning of June 1658, he and thirteen other men from Sandwich appeared before the Court to give reason for refusing to take the oath of fidelity. Because of their religion, they replied that it was unlawful for them to take the oath. The Court fined them 10 pounds apiece.

About 1657, he joined the newly formed Society of Friends. In 1658, the Quakers in Sandwich began having monthly meetings and the Court issued the third decree against them. It forbid, under severe penalties, holding or attending meeting. Following the decree, the fines and complaints against Quakers became so numerous that in June (1658), a marshal was chosen to help the constable. That October, Edward and ten other men appearaed before the Court “to answer for their refusing to take the oath of fidelity and remaining obstinate.” The Court fined each of them ten pounds. In addition, “Edward Perry for using threatening speeches to abuse the marshal is fined to the use of the colony twenty shillings.”

Regularly throughout the years Edward’s name appeared in the court records. In 1658, 1659, and 1660 he and other Quakers were fined for refusing the oath of fidelity. In 1659 he was fined for “using threatning speeches” to the marshall. In 1663 he was called to account for a “rayling letter which hee wrote to the Court”. Nevertheless, he was respected enough to be appointed to share in community duties.

March, 1659/60 – The Court summoned Edward and six other men to answer about whether they would take the oath of fidelity. Edward and another man didn’t appear. The men who did appear said that they had not been duly summoned. There isn’t a record of them being fined.

13 Jun 1660 – The Court summoned Edward and eleven other men and asked them if they would take the oath. After all of the men refused to do, the Court fined them five pounds each. That is the last record of them being summoned or fined for refusing to take the oath of fidelity. The cause for some of the relief from fines and punishments appears to be due to interference from King Charles.

Arthur Howland and Elizabeth Prence

1657 – Arthur Howland Jr., an ardent Quaker and son of Arthur HOWLAND Sr., was brought before the court. Elizabeth Prence, daughter of Gov. Thomas PRENCE (also our ancestor) and Arthur Howland Jr., fell in love. The relationship blossomed and matrimony seemed inevitable. However, it was illegal and punishable by court sanction for couples to marry without parental consent. Thomas Prence urged Elizabeth to break off the relationship, but to no avail. He then used powers available to him as Governor. Arthur Howland, Jr., was brought before the General Court and fined five pounds for

“inveigling of Mistris Elizabeth Prence and making motion of marriage to her, and prosecuting the same contrary to her parents likeing, and without theire mind and will…[and] in speciall that hee desist from the use of any meanes to obtaine or retaine her affections as aforesaid.”

2 Jul 1667 – Arthur Howland, Jr., was brought before the General Court again where he “did sollemly and seriously engage before the Court, that he will wholly desist and never apply himself for the future as formerly he hath done, to Mistris Elizabeth Prence in reference unto marriage.” Guess what happened! They were married on December 9, 1667 and in time had a daughter and four sons. Thus a reluctant Thomas Prence acquired a Quaker son-in-law, Quaker grandchildren and innumerable Quaker in-laws of Henry Howland.

22 Dec 1657 – Arthur, his brother Henry and Henry’s son Zoeth were called before the Plymouth court to answer for entertaining a Quaker, and suffering and inviting sundry to hear said Quaker. They were fined for using thier homes for Quaker meetings.’ The families of Arthur Howland and his brother Henry, were two Plymouth families most identified as practicing Quakers. The families ceased attending Plymouth religious services and allowed their homes for the conduct of Quaker meetings. Throughout his life, Arthur’s brother John HOWLAND(also our ancestor) remained faithful to Separatist belief and practice, but his compassion for Quakers is not known.

1659 – Arthur Jr.’s freeman status was revoked and in 1684 he was imprisoned in Plymouth.

1669 – Arthur was arrested for neglecting to pay his minister-tax; due to his advanced age and low estate he was excused from paying.

Sandwich Quakers

In 1657, “the people called Quakers” made their first appearance in Sandwich. In Bowden’s “History of the Society of Friends in America,”it is mentioned that two English Friends named ‘Christopher Holden (See Puritans v. Quakers – Boston Martyrs) and John Copeland came to Sandwich on the 20th of 6th month ,1657, and had a number of meetings, and that their arrival was hailed with feelings of satisfaction by many who had long been burdened with a lifeless ministry and dead forms in religion. But the town had its advocates of reliigous intolerance and no small commotion ensued.” The Governor issued a warrant for their arrest, but when a copy of the warrant was asked for by William Newland at whose house the meetings had been held, it was refused and its execution was resisted. A severe rebuke and a fine was then inflicted upon them. The two prisoners were sentenced to be whipped, but the selectmen of the town declined to act in the case and the marshal was obliged to take them to Barnstable to find a magistrate willing to comply with the order.

Tradition reports that many meetings were held at a secluded spot in the woods which from the preacher’s Christian name was afterwards known as “Christopher’s Hollow.” Numerous complaints were made against divers persons in Sandwich for “meetings at private houses and inveighing against magistrates;” and several men and women were publicly whipped for “disturbing public worship, for abusing the ministers,” for “encouraging” others in holding meetings, for “entertaining the preachers and for unworthy speeches.”

Robert Harper

It seems probable that much of Edmund PERRY’s son-in-law Robert Harper’s land and personal property was taken from him because of his refusal to take the oath of Fidelity and for absenting himself from the authorized church worship. His name appears at the head of a list of Quakers, with fines of £44. It may be that because of this he had few worldly goods to leave, as no record of the probate of his estate has come to light, nor can we find the date of his death.

1 June 1658 – Robert appeared before the court for failure to take the “oath of fidelitie”, and was fined £10 on at Plymouth, Plymouth Co., MA, New England.

2 Oct 1658 – Robert Harper was fined £5 for refusing to take the “oath of fidelitie”, along with twelve others of Sandwich, and was fined £5.

7 Jun 1659 – Robert appeared before the court for failure to take the “oath of fidelitie”, and fined £5 at Plymouth, Plymouth Co., MA, New England.

6 Oct 1659 – Robert appeared before the court for failure to take the “oath of fidelitie”, and fined £5 at Plymouth, Plymouth Co., MA, New England.

8 or 13 June 1660 – Robert Harper was fined fined £5 for refusing to take the “oath of fidelitie”. This fine was imposed by the court in regards to the 7 Mar 1660 appearance. on at Plymouth, Plymouth Co., MA, New England.

2 Oct 1660 – Robert was convicted for refusing to take the “oath of fidelitie”, at the General Court in Plymouth; fined £6 at Plymouth, Plymouth Co., MA, New England.

1659 – Henry DILLINGHAM and his wife Elizabeth PERRY were early adopted the Quaker faith and suffered persecution in common with others of that sect. Henry was son of Edward DILLINGHAM and Elizabeth was the daughter of Edmund PERRY., The trouble seems to have begun about 1656. In 1657 neither he nor his father appears on a list of those subscribing to support the minister.

Sandwich was the site of an early Quaker settlement. However, the settlement was not well-received, as their beliefs clashed with those of the Puritans who founded the town. Many Quakers left the town, either for further settlements along the Cape, or elsewhere.

7 June 1659 – Henry was fines 50 shillings “for refusing to serve in the office of constable,being chosen by the town of Sandwich”In the same year he was again fined 2 pounds, ,10 shillings.

In 1659 he was fined 15 Shillings ” for refusing to aid the Marshall in the execution of his office” (relating to Quakers) and in the same year his wife was fined 10 shillings for being at a Quaker’s meeting.

Henry seems later to have mortified his views,or possibly the authorities had grown more tolerant,as in 1666 he served a constable.

Daniel and Stephen Wing

Daniel and Stephen Wing, two sons of John WING refused to take the “oath of fidelity,”not on the ground that they declined all oaths, but because this particular oath pledged them to assist in the execution of an intolerant enactment.

Among the fines inflicted on Daniel Wing we find March 1658 for entertaing Quakers, 20 shillings. For refusing to take the oath of fidelity, £5. imposed 4 times: Oct 1658, Oct 1669, Mar 1660, Jun 1660. December, 1658, excluded from the number of freemen.
For refusing to aid the marshal, £10.

Indeed, so generally were the laws against free worship condemned in Sandwich, that the constable was “unable to discharge his duty by reason of many disturbent persons there residing,” and itwas enacted that “a marshal be chosen for such service in Sandwich, Barnstable and Yarmouth.” In 1658 a list was made out by the Governor and other magistrates of “certain persons who refused to take the oath of fidelity” and for that reason had no legal right to act as inhabitants. They were, therefore, each fined five pounds to the colony’s use, and it was ordered that each and every one of them should henceforth have no power to act in any town meeting till better evidence appeared of their legal admittance, nor to claim title or interest in any town privileges as town’s men, and that no man should henceforth be admitted an inhabitant of Sandwich, or enjoy the privileges thereol, without the approbation of the church and of Mr. Thomas PRENCE(the Governor and also our ancestor), or of the assistants whom they shall choose. Many were summoned to Plymouth to account for nonattendance upon public worship, and distraints were exacted from these recusants in Sandwich to satisfy for fines to the amount of six hundred and sixty pounds. Of these fines Daniel Wing paid not less than twelve pounds.

Up to this time Daniel Wing, with others who acted with him appear simply as friends of toleration and resisters of an oppressive law. But it was not long before he and most of these sympathizers became active converts to the persecuted sect. “In 1658 no less than eighteen families in Sandwich recorded their names” in one of the documents of the Society. Writers of that period (1658-60) say: “We have two strong places in this land, the one at Newport and the other at Sandwich; almost the whole town of Sandwich is adhering towards them,” and the Records of Monthly Meetings of Friends show that “the Sandwich Monthly Meeting was the first established in America.” Its records extend as far back as 1672, which is earlier than any other known in this country. It was not until the accession of King Charles the Second (about 1660) that these proceedings against the Quakers were discontinued by the royal order, and the most obnoxious laws were repealed in the colony of Plymouth, when we are told that “the Quakers became the most peaceful, industrious and moral of all the religious sects.” la the fervor of religious zeal, and while smarting under severe injuries, they doubtless at this early period provoked the authorities by indiscretions which none ofIheir successors inthe faith would attempt to justify, and yet every descendant of the Puritans must regret that those who had themselves suffered so much for their conscientious convictions should have inflicted such severities upon dissenters from their own views.

Daniel Wing officially declared his affiliation with the Quakers who had established a Friends meeting at Spring Hill in Sandwich, the first in America, and between the months of March to December, was arrested and brought before the Courts a total of five times and fined extensively. By October of that year, he, his brother Stephen, Thomas Ewer, and six others were not only no longer legally given admittance into the town of Sandwich, but risked execution, for on the 19th of that month, the Court order was passed that “banish both resident and visiting Quakers by pain of death if they return”. Ingeniously, however, by early December with the aid of his brother John, Daniel with foresight had his estate confirmed to his children in order to escape the fines levied due to his Quakerism, thereby preserving his home and personal assets, and in light of the Southwicks, his family, as his seventh child, Beulah was born just a month later.

Daniel embraced the new Quaker religion and suffered greatly under the Quaker persecution. The constant fines had come to the point where he was afraid of losing his homestead. In order to escape that fate, he had his estate probated during his lifetime and given to his children. This event has caused much confusion to family historians ever since.

Stephen Wing, with his brother Daniel, embraced the new Quaker faith around 1658. He was repeatedly fined for his beliefs, but not to the same level that his brother faced. After the Quaker percecution ended Stephen became the Town Clerk for Sandwich. Stephen was probably the last surviving original settler of Sandwich. He died on 24 APR 1710. He almost certainly lies in an unmarked grave at the original Friends’ Cemetery at Sandwich.

Rose Allen Holloway Newland

2 Oct 1661 – Rose Allen HOLLOWAY Newland and her second husband, William Newland, were fined 10 shillings for being at a Quaker meeting, and that same year, William Newland was complained of for having entertained a Quaker in his home.

Anthony Colby and Thomas Macy

1661 – The year after Anthony COLBY’s death, his widow, Susannah sold 60 acres near Haverhill, MA to her son Isaac to pay for her board. From the public divisions she received land in 1662 and 1664. In the latter year she married William Whitridge, a carpenter from Gloucester, and he died in 1669. In the meantime, Susannah had to defend her homestead against the claim of Thomas Macy from whom it had been purchased. At about the time of the sale, Macy had fled to Nantucket to escape the penalty of sheltering two Quakers during a thunderstorm, but later he denied the sale and tried to expel the widow and her family by legal process. He was unsuccessful and the premises were in the possession of Susannah’s descendants as late as 1895. In 1678, the son of Thomas Macy was deeded half of all the lands remaining in consideration of services rendered to the widow, and in 1682 the homestead was deeded to Susannah’s son, Samuel Colby, who cared for her during the infirmities of old age.

259 Main Street, Amesbury, MA The Macy-Colby house is open on Saturdays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm during the summer. Other times are available by appointment. To arrange an appointment contact: Kathy Colby 978-388-3054 colbykathleen@verizon.net

In August 1659 in Salisbury, Mass, Thomas Macy was caught in a violent storm of rain, and hurried home drenched to the skin. He found in his house four wayfarers, who had also come in for shelter. His wife being sick in bed, no one had seen or spoken to them. They asked him how far it was to Casco Bay [Maine]. From their dress and demeanor he thought they might be Quakers, and, as it was unlawful to harbor persons of that sect, he asked them to go on their way, since he feared to give offense in entertaining them. As soon as the worst of the storm was over, they left, and he never saw them again. They were in his house about three quarters of an hour, during which he said very little to them, having himself come home wet, and found his wife sick.

He was summoned to Boston, forty miles distant, to answer for this offense. Being unable to walk, and not rich enough to buy a horse, he wrote to the General Court, relating the circumstances, and explaining his non-appearance. He was fined thirty shillings, and ordered to be admonished by the governor. He paid his fine, received his reprimand, and removed to the island of Nantucket, of which he was the first settler, and for some time the only white inhabitant.

William Hammond

William HAMMOND’sindependence in religious matters may have made him unpopular with his more puritanical neighbors, although he does not appear to have been so unpopular as some of his most intimate friends. His near neighbor and most intimate friend appears to have been John Warren, who came from the same locality in Suffolk County, England, and between whose family and his own there appears to have been considerable intimacy for several generations prior to the settlement in America.

On occasion there were fines “for an offense against the laws concerning baptism,” and “for neglect of publick worship” 14 Sabbaths at 5 shillings each. Warnings were given “for not attending publick worship”.

27 May 1661 – The houses of “old Warren and goodman Hammond” were ordered to be searched for Quakers, for whom they were known to have considerable sympathy. Considerable independence in religious matters, great love of liberty and sympathy for all who are persecuted for conscience sake seem to have been inherent family traits for generations past. It is probable that William Hammond and his intimate friend, Warren, were both inclined toward the religious teaching of Roger Williams, but were too conservative to subject themselves to the persecution that his more radical followers were compelled to endure. This view is supported by the fact that many of their descendants were rigid adherents of the Baptist Church. The tendency, however, in this family has been toward great liberty of thought in religious matters and many of the descendants have been connected with the Unitarian and Universalist denominations, while many in the later generations have held membership in no church

Daniel Butler

Thomas HOWES’ son-in-law, Daniel Butler was arrested by marshal George Barlow for entertaining a strange Quaker in his house and for resisting arrest, for which the court sentenced him to be whipped on 13 Jun 1660.

At a court of 5 Oct 1663, “Mr. Thomas Hawley complained against William Allen and Daniell Butler… to a damage of £40, with all other damages, for taking away his mare in a violent and royetous maner.” The jury found for the plantiff and awarded fifty shillings damages and costs “if the mare and colt delivered to the plaintiffe. otherwise £16.” This item is interesting for two reasons: (1) As we have seen, Thomas Butler had appeared on behalf of his son Daniel in the tar case of 5 May 1663. This would imply that Daniel Butler may have reached his majority between the two dates, so that his father was not responsible for the son in Oct 1663. (2) The implication is that the parties concerned did not consider this a case of theft. One wonders whether this mare may not have been one which was taken from the Quakers by the marshall since, if so, the question of maral ownership by Hawley may have been in doubt, which would explain the comparative mildness of the award to the plaintiff, as well as the wording of the entry. William Allen was a leader of the Quaker faction.

With the outbreak of the Pequot War in 1675, Daniel Butler was required to serve in the militia. As a Quaker he could not do so, and was fined £8 as a “deliquent soldier” 10 Mar 1675/6.